Orphan Stage
by Terrasa
Summary: **Complete** AU Yaoi 1x2, 3+4~ POV* Duo is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. He finds himself at a new school and in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago.
1. Weeeee

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So Hide

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Lonely in my dream I sleep away my fears

Lonely in my home I wipe away my tears

Lonely in my bed I long for something real

Lonely in my mind I cry to make me feel

Hiding behind smiles never to be real

Hiding in the darkness hoping to feel

Hiding from open doors in order to sustain

Hiding from the perils that would succeed in pain

I am an orphan

Waiting for that someone

I am an orphan

Someone to never come

I am a loser looking to the past

I am a loser wanting it to last

I am a loser for running away

I am a loser hiding from the day

Yet there is no answer for what I am

So that's why I live to become a man

So I wont see myself as no one 

So I can call myself a someone

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~JeM


	2. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: hmm none yet… there will be yaoi and more warnings later on in the story.

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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**__**

Prologue:

Setting the Stage

Duo Maxwell, that is my name. Although it hasn't always been my name. Sure, the Duo part has been with me since I was very little, but I started out being called Pen Phelps. Somewhere along the line everyone started to call me Duo, cant really remember why now… Its been too long. 

Not many people have lived the life I have, its been hard. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to not have grown up in an orphanage, to not have had an alcoholic father, to not have lost the most important person to me. 

But the thing about life is, it doesn't care what you think. Fate will just stick you anywhere it well pleases, that is if you believe in fate. I never could get with the concept of 'our lives are all planed out'. Like some sort of story. Story's contain elements which make it up, there is introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and then the resolution. Sort of like life, ne? Your born, given an identity programmed to fall into the system of laws and boundaries. You grow up and have to work, get married and raise a family. In the end you grow old and life is not as exciting as it once was. Then its all the same, we die and our story is over. Nothing more to say, feel, that's it! You die. The End!

Anyone can predict the future in three words. "Your gonna die." That simple, wow! I am now a prophet. But no one can predict what obstacles lie before our deaths. No one could predict that my father was going to be drunk every day and beat me till I was bloody. My so called 'fate' made my life pretty bad. I kept waiting for the good stuff to come, the good memories to remove my bad ones. They never came and I'm starting to feel that I got royally screwed in the 'life' section of my existence. 

I was really depressed for the last couple of months, I saw myself going nowhere. The thought of ending up like my father scared me, and I wanted to know where I was going in life. Then I stumbled upon something that changed my whole outlook on fate, if only for a moment. 

Sitting in the office of the Maxwell church directors room I got bored. I was in trouble, again. Of course! You couldn't keep Duo Maxwell away from trouble. Not that it was trouble in the first place, I liked to call it 'having fun. But 'god forbid' telling scary stories to little children is an 'un-holy' thing to do! How else do they think children are going to grow up to be 'brave and confident'? The answer is in the scary storied I tell ya! After listening to them they get scared, and if they listen to them enough they might just get immune to scary stuff, right?… I didn't think so either… Actually I just wanted to scare the pants off the little annoying brats. 

The director, Father Maxwell, got a call and left to take it in the other room. I was left alone in his tidy little office. For some reason the little filling cabinet caught my attention. And being the good little person I am I ignored it… ok so maybe I picked the lock and opened it up to sorted through all the files. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I started to look for my brothers file. 

Yes, yes… I have a little brother. The most important person to me, or was the most important. He was adopted when he was five and I was seven. It was pretty horrible watching him go, I don't like to think of it much. Last thing I heard about him was that his new parents changed his name and he was moved into a huge mansion. No one would tell me anything else, seems the family didn't want anything to do with me. It hurt, I miss him a lot.

As I browsed through the files I finally came across his file. I just sat there for awhile staring at it. The thought that all his information and whereabouts were in this thin folder sent a chill down my spine. I slowly opened the folder and stared at the bright blue eyes of my younger brother. The picture was taken of him after he first came here, eyes red from crying. He was always crying back then, didn't really have a reason not too. I stared at him for another minute, he really looked nothing like me. 

Hall, my father, had mentioned once that we were half brothers. Our mothers 'supposedly' died when we were babies. I never believed that though, Hall always had a different woman every month. My guess was that he got two women pregnant and they dumped him with us and left. 

My hair is a light chestnut color, just the opposite of my brothers pale blond hair. His eyes being bright blue, mine being an awkward color of violet. The only thing we really had in common was our small heights and thin frames, which is weird since Hall was a really tall man. I hoped someday I'd get a growth spurt, sure, I'm not 'that' short. I'm just average, which bugs the hell out of me.

I drug my eyes away from the picture and started reading some of the notes.

__

Dill Phelps

Brother Pen (Duo) Phelps

Adopted Age five by…

My head shot up as I heard Father Maxwell's heavy feet making its way to the office. I closed the folder fast, but not before seeing the words: _Vanibin City_.

Father Maxwell walked into the office with his lips set in a frown. I could see that he was not happy about something and to make matters worse, he was most likely going to take his anger out on me. Well, that is what I assumed. But as he sat at his desk facing me, I could tell that something was a little wrong. Usually the father would walk in saying, "Duo, Duo, Duo… What are we going to do with you?" Or something along the lines of that. This time however, he just walked in silently, not saying a word.

His dark brown eyes just stared at the desk and his head was tilted in his hands, he was deep in thought. This was starting to scare me. Why was he just sitting there?

"Duo…" His low voice brought me out of my thoughts. "You are now seventeen, yes?"

"Aa…" My eyebrows creased together like they sometimes do when I am confused. And I was confused, what brought my age up?

Of course, the father got straight to the point. "There's… been a situation. Your father, Hall, was released from jail about a month ago." I could feel my eyes starting to grow wide and my heart was definitely beating faster than normal. I just sat there for a while trying to take in this information which I had dreaded for so long. "He… is now missing. Skipped his parole. Your going to have to go to the station tomorrow to talk to some people."

"Wha? Why?" I asked in a shaky voice.

"They believe… that your father may come after you." Fear, if it wasn't already in me it was now after what the father had just said. 

I admit it, I am deathly afraid of Hall. I could still feel his hands around my neck as he choked me. Or his foot jamming itself into my stomach. I can still see my brother crying as he was lifted and flung across the room countless times. Those memories I had wished to forget, but they were the only memories I had of my brother, so I never forgot them. 

Hall probably wants to kill me now. After all, I was the one who got him put in jail. That day, long ago, he had come home drunk, an angry drunk. He decided to use Dill as a punching bag, I was scared. Dill had looked so pale, so weak compared to Hall. I guess I got finally sick of him because I somehow managed to call the police. When they finally came, Dill was nearly dead. He had a couple broken ribs and a concussion, not to mention his beautiful face was black and blue. As they handcuffed the drunken Hall, he had looked at me with pure hatred in his eyes. 

I knew he wanted to kill me then. I was the reason he was stuck in that horrible place. Though the way I see it, it wasn't 'really' my fault. It was his. His for making my life miserable. His for beating my brother to a bloody pulp. His fault, for not being the father I always wanted.

Yeah, I admit, I've always wanted a family. A nice mother and father who would care for me and spoil me. I was never adopted though, no one wanted a rowdy hyper child. I am really thankful to whomever the family was that adopted Dill. He may have been able to live the life I had dreamed of. That was enough for me, knowing that he was happy. But that didn't stop me from wanting to see him these ten years.

The next morning I was taken to the police station. I cant really remember much of that day, I was too much in shock. My father wanted to kill me, that was all I could think about! He was probably watching me from somewhere. Waiting to get his hands on me and break my thin li'l neck or something. That wasn't a pretty thought.

I was brought through one of the doors aligning the wall at the far end of the police station. People were looking at me weird as if thinking, "There's another bad kid brought in. What is the world coming too?" If only they knew.

The office was really small and uncomfortable looking. I don't see how anyone could stay a whole day stuck in a small office like that. One of my major problems, I'm Claustrophobic. Cant stand tiny places. I remember one time when I had broken a plate, Hall had locked me in a closet for a couple hours. I remember screaming and clawing at the door until my fingers were bloody. By the time I got let out I had scratches all over myself and was bleeding all over. I was so scared I had started pulling out my hair in big chunks. Of course, Hall was pissed that I had made a mess of the closet, and to punish me even more, he shaved all my hair off. 

After that, I never cut my hair again. Which is why it is down below my ass now. And lemme tell you, it wasn't easy keeping it long. The Sister at the church, Helen, always was on my case about it. One time she actually tried to cut it in my sleep. Of course I woke up just as she was snipping me some nice little bangs. I was so mad that I had actually grabbed the scissors and almost stabbed the woman. Luckily, I missed, and instead cut her robe pretty bad.

Inside the office I was directed by the Father to sit down on one of the fold up chairs in front of the small dark wooden desk. A short man sat on the other side. He had beady little eyes that looked frightened for some reason. Maybe he was a new guy? He certainly didn't look older than twenty. Holding out a shaky hand towards me he introduced himself as Frank.

"Now Duo, I know you are still a little confused at why you are here." He brushed his dark brown hair out of his face and smiled. "I've been asked to look after you for awhile, we've had cases like this before and you are going to have to be put into a sort of protection program."

"What?" Protection program? What did this guy mean? The only protection program I had heard of was witness protection program in which they change people's identities and send them off far away. Which was one thing I did not want to do!

"Your father, Hall Phelps, as you may already know had skipped out on his parole. We are worried about your safety and therefore ask for your cooperation." The man's voice lowered slightly as he took in my frightened look.

I had kinda hoped when I got to the station that maybe he would tell me that Hall had been found. But if Hall didn't want to be found, then they probably weren't going to find him. "What do I have to do?" I asked, clamping my hands together tightly.

For the next half hour I was told about other people brought into protection programs, and what they had to do. Frank told me that I would have to change my name and move somewhere far away, figures. Of course I wasn't going to make it easy on the poor man. 

"Hell NO! I am not changing my name…" Just then a thought occurred to me. "Well, I will if you let me pick my name." I smirked as I saw the guys eyes widen.

"I'm sorry, but we aren't really suppose to do that…"

"Hey, I'm the one who has to live with the name… and there's no way I would live with a stupid name you people like to give out!" I yelled. I guess I had gotten to him, he caved in and said he could make the arrangements. 

And what do you suppose that I had him change my name to? "I want to be Duo Maxwell!" Frank looked like he was about to be ill. A new recruit and already stuck with an uncooperative child. 

"Duo is already your name…"

"No, my nickname, and I like it. And what's the big deal if I just change my last name? Its still a different name, right?" I grinned as I saw him mumbling under his breath. "Oh! And I want to choose where I am going!"

"WHAT?" His eyes widened and he really did look frightened now. "I'm sorry, but I just cant do that!" 

"Hey, either I get to decide my location or you are going to have to waste a whole police patrol on guarding the orphanage!" Once again the man caved in. I felt pretty bad, hoped he wouldn't get in trouble because of me. But I had a plan now, and nothing was going to stop me!

So where do you think I chose to go? None other than _Vanibin City! _I knew there were slim chances that I might find my brother, but I found out that there were two high schools in that city. And there was a fifty fifty chance that I would be placed in the same high school as him. I was going to be a Junior this year, which would make Dill a Freshman. I could feel the fear of my father leave me, as the excitement of possibly seeing my brother again took over.

Frank looked pale once I told him where I wanted to go. Vanibin was a pretty rich town, and it wouldn't be cheap sending me there. I'd be living by myself, since I was almost eighteen, I would be able to request to become recognized as an adult. There was a whole process that usually took a couple weeks, I wasn't paying much attention, but Frank said that he could speed it up. The thought of living on my own excited me. I had never even had my own room! And now I would have my own apartment!

I was set to leave in a week. One week to prepare myself for my mission. I was going to find my brother! Oh and stay safe from Hall, but he wasn't really on my mind anymore. I walked out of the police station that day with a smile on my face. Father Maxwell was looking at me weird like I was a totally different person. 

Blond hair, blue eyes… I could see my brothers face clearly in my mind. Wondering what he would look like now that ten years had gone by. Would he even recognize me? He was only five when he last saw me, he might have forgotten about me! I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts as I got into the car. Now wasn't the time to worry about those things. 

TBC.

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Hope you like the prologue… Please review and tell me what ya think!


	3. Stage Open

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: hmm none yet… there will be yaoi and more warnings later on in the story.

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Open

The first thing that came to my mind as I walked into my new home city was 'Wow'! Not only was this city rich but it was huge as well! Most of the buildings are newer than fifteen years old, with all the newest architecture designs. The city was amazing, but my apartment is what made me hold my breath. It was 'big'. The bedroom was about the size of one of the orphanage rooms that held about six kids. And I would be getting it all to myself! Sure, it wasn't really 'that' large, but the thought of me living in it alone made it seem all the bigger. The kitchen was nice, new, clean! The living room had a couch and television set already up for me, complimentary of the good tax payers who helped me get here!

As soon as I had stepped off the plane into this town I was greeted by a tall man with black hair spiked up high above his head. He wore dark sunglasses that hid his eyes and so far I had yet to see him take those damn things off. The man introduced himself as Agent Kemp. He was currently showing me around my apartment with a big smile on his face. My reaction to the place must have been funny to him. I guess he was used to this city and lived in a huge house like all the rest of the residences here. Being a cop and around the age of thirty, he probably wasn't too bad off. And his sunglasses, they looked pretty expensive. I had seen a pair like that in a window at the shopping mall once. Would have stolen them too if it weren't for Sister Helen's tight grip on my hand. I've been known to 'accidentally' take things, and she didn't trust me after the incident where I had taken her cross right off her neck without her knowing. It was kinda a habit of mine, I would try and see how much I could take off of someone before they knew their possessions were missing. Right now, I was contemplating whether or not I could take his sunglasses off him without him realizing. I didn't really try though, him being a cop and all. 

On the drive to the apartment I saw some pretty huge houses. But like every city, there is the poor part of town, which my apartment was in, not that I saw it as poor. Market shops aligned the streets and people walked around rushing to get from one place to the other. The one thing I noticed right away was how clean it was. Trash didn't litter the floor like where I came from. Bums weren't sitting on every corner beggin for dope money. I hadn't seen one prostitute! Amazing.

There were a ton of apartment complexes in the middle of the city, and I was staying in one of those. I found it rather amusing when I had looked at a map of Vanibin City. It kinda reminded me of a doughnut, with rich expensive homes surrounding the circle of markets, apartments, shops, and schools. Italy the boot, Vanibin City the giant doughnut!! '

Yeah, I had done my research. I figured that I would be placed in High school which was closest to where I was to be livin. The High school was called Lowe High School. I couldn't wait, well ok, I was kinda scared shitless.

Agent Kemp motioned for me to sit down at the small wooden kitchen table. We talked for awhile about the high school I was to be attending. Kemp was a pretty nice guy, I got along with him immediately. He told me that I would have no problem getting alone with everyone, which I didn't really believe much but hoped he was right. I had only changed school's once, and that was when I was taken to the orphanage. It was a little scary to think of changing in the middle of the school year, and in High School! Ugh!

"Now Duo…" Kemp's light voice changed to seriousness and he looked at me straight in the eye. "If we get anything suspicious, or find out that your father may know your location… you are going to have to leave."

I bit my lip and turned my eyes towards the floor. I 'really' did not want to leave, not until I found out something about my brother. I just hoped that I wouldn't accidentally give myself away, I always talk a lot and it might be a good idea if I learned to control my tongue a little. Silence would be a good thing, but I don't think I could transform from 'hyper energetic super talkative person' to 'shy quiet person' in one day.

"Aa… I know! Don't worry bout me I'll be fine! Aaaaand I will keep my mouth shut!" I chirped happily. He just kinda looked at me weird as if he knew I was forcing myself to look happy. In the end he didn't say anything more. He bid I have a good day and left me with the keys saying he already had a copy and would check on me once in a while. Nice guy, Kemp was.

The house was now empty, and quiet. With just me standing there by the door looking at it. I felt strange, I was alone for the first time in my life. No one to tell me what to do, no one to nag me. I should be happy right? Wrong, I felt lonely, even only after the first few minutes of being here. Shivering, I walked into my bedroom, with its big bed and fluffy comforter. Quickly, I jumped into the bed and curled underneath the covers. The warmth of the big blankets made me fall quickly to sleep. I felt safe, curled up in a tiny ball. 

Before I fell completely into slumber my last thought was of my 'fate'. Maybe my life was finally going on a good course. Maybe there really was a thing such as fate, and I would find my brother. I doubted it a little, well actually a lot, but I really wished it were true. Wished that my life wasn't really meant to be nothing.

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The next morning I woke up to the bright sunlight streaming in through the big windows. Yawning loudly, I uncurled myself from my little ball. I hadn't really slept that well that night. I think I woke up a couple times, scared, thinking 'where am I?' Maybe the mattress was a little too soft for my liking. Maxwell orphanage only had discount mattresses that were hard but easy to clean. Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever slept in a bed as nice as this in my whole existence. There was a lot to get used to in this new life of mine.

Walking out of the bedroom, I noticed once again the quietness of my apartment. 'My apartment', it was mine, yet it felt so… not like home. "Hmph, I'll have to go and buy something to make this place a little more me!" I smirked, thinking of the look on Agent Kemps face if I were to paint the apartment black. 

Opening up my fridge I noticed it was completely empty. "Great! Just when I need it most." I hadn't eaten anything the day before, being a jumbled emotional mess. I was excited one minute, scared the next, angry for being scared, then back to excited for most of the day. Food had not agreed with me then, but today I started school! And I needed the energy, bad.

I got dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt and walked out into the warm spring breeze. Across the street there was a small corner store where I got my breakfast, a doughnut. My first meal in this doughnut shaped town! It was pretty stale and I ended up throwing it away half way through. I was feeling pretty queasy as I took the five minute walk to my new High School. People seemed to be staring at me, though I think it was just my imagination. I kept getting the feeling that someone was watching me, you know, when the hairs on the back of your neck are standing up, or when you start to get all self conscience about how your walking when you know someone's looking. Yeah, I guess I looked kinda funny walkin all stiff legged and looking around with wide eyes.

I near 'damn' turned around to look behind me at least ten times to make sure I wasn't being followed. I was back to being scared again. There was no way Hall would be able to find me, at least not this quickly. So there was nothing to worry about, right? Well, I wish I could have agreed with myself on that one. I couldn't help thinking of the possibility that he was here, watching me, and waiting for me to go down some alley alone and…

"GYAAAAA" Someone place their hand on my shoulder making me yell out in fright. Spinning around quickly, I got into a crouch with my fists raised. Guess I looked pretty stupid cause my 'supposed attacker' started laughing and clutching his stomach. "KEMP! Why the hell did you go and sneak up on me like that?!" I growled. My face was now pretty red from my embarrassment and his laughing wasn't helping.

"S-sorry Duo… just…" He took a deep breath and wiped the moisture from his eyes before continuing. "Thought I'd take ya to school, but you had already left. Didn't mean to scare ya." He grinned at me. "So where'd you learn a stance like that?"

I blushed again and started walking again, "None of you business!" 

One time, I had gotten into a fight and was beaten up pretty bad by a group on bullies. That was me, always causin trouble. But I always ended up the one bleedin. The bully gang had left me beaten and blue on the side of the street, I can remember thinking that there was no way I would be able to get myself home. But I didn't have to worry much longer, an old Chinese man had walked by and picked me up. He took me in and cleaned up my cuts. Real nice of the old geezer!

Somehow or another, the old man made a deal with me, if I would work for him at his shop he would teach me a little about self defense and martial arts. It turned out he didn't really teach me a little, he ended up teaching me a lot. I learned how to manipulate my small size to my advantage, learned the 'art of ancient Chinese karate', or so the man said. I think I took his teachings for granite. I had never even told him thanks, for all that he had done for me. Never told him I enjoyed his company and he goes and dies before I ever could. It scared me to think that a man that strong could go and die that quickly. I promised him at his grave that I would become someone one day, someone he would be proud of. 

After that, I always told people how I felt directly. Life was too short, and there was so many people that I wanted to give my thanks. Sister Helen and Father Maxwell especially, they had put up with me, the 'unadoptable maniac child.' 

Funny how I had forgotten those times until now. The old man hadn't really crossed my mind in a long time and I had never really used much of what he had taught me. For after one fight, the bullies always left me alone for good. I hoped I hadn't gone soft after his death. I would hate to waste the gift he had given me. Hmm… maybe I should join some Martial Arts club at the school. They still have those don't they?

Kemp was looking at me funny again as we rounded the final corner of my destination. I turned to him and smiled. "You don't need to come any further, I think I can handle it from here Mr. Babysitter."

He smirked, probably glad to see me looking normal again. "Aa… You know my number, call if you need anything. I have a day off tomorrow if you want me to show you around or something." With that said, he left me by one of the tall black gates in front of the school. I walked to the entrance and looked in the schools grounds. My breath hitched a little as I stared in awe at the massive building. 

"Geez, how many students go to this school?" I didn't realize I had said that out loud until I heard a small voice from behind me.

"Too many." I turned quickly around and stared into the face of a short girl with short dark blue hair. She smiled at me as she stuck out her hand. "Hey, I'm Hilde! You new here?"

Putting on one of my best smiles I took her hand. "Duo Maxwell, yeah I'm new… do you think you could show me to the office?" I think I saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks when I smiled at her. She nodded her head and led me through the walkway leading to the big gray building. 

There was grass everywhere and trees spread out along the school grounds, with benches along the curvy paths. It looked beautiful, and I couldn't wait for lunch when I could go out and lay on the grass with the cool breeze.

I was led to the front of the building and was about to follow Hilde inside when something caught my attention. Sitting under one of the huge trees were three of the 'Hottest' guys I had ever seen. I stared with my mouth hanging open for a moment checking them out.

One was laying down on the grass with a book on his stomach and head leaning against the back of the tree. His light brown hair was flipped over to one side in a weird hairstyle. It suited him though, as did his emerald green eyes that were currently moving back and forth between the pages of the book. His outfit seemed a little odd to me, seeing how hot it was outside, he wore jeans and a blue turtle neck. 'Eeek. How can he stand the heat?' I shouldn't be complaining though, seeing as I was wearing all black.

There was one I recognized as being Chinese in heritage, he was sitting cross legged with his eyes closed and face to the sky. Anyone would guess that he was sleeping, but it looked more like a meditative state to me. He wore loose white pants and a blue tank top that showed off his muscular arms. 'Must work out.' I thought to myself.

The third one made me raise my eyebrow a little as I studied him. The Japanese boy was sitting with his arms across his chest and was looking around at his surroundings with an icy stare. His messy brown hair hid part of his cobalt blue eyes that looked like they could scare away a heard of buffalo with one glare. His body was nicely toned and I smirked when I took in his 'oh so revealing' green tank top. 

'Eh? What the hell is wrong with me? Why the hell was I checking out three 'guys?' I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked back to Hilde who was smirking evilly at me. "W-what?" I mumbled as I quickly stepped into the building with her not far behind.

"So I see you've seen the famous trio?" Her smirk grew as she saw my face turning red. 

I don't even know why I was blushing! I was just looking at them, right? Didn't mean I liked what I saw, right? Gah, who am I kidding, I even admitted to myself they were gorgeous. Doesn't mean I'm gay or anything… I like girls, always have! Well, now that I think about it…. Gah, gotta get my mind back on track now! I don't have time to worry about my sexual preference! 

I cleared my throat and asked the question that had been on my mind all day, "Hilde, do you know a freshman with blond hair and blue eyes? Kinda short… well, I think he's short… well he could be tall. And really skinny with… well I don't really know if he is skinny."

She looked at me kinda funny and shook her head. "Hmm, cant really say, I don't know too many freshman. Their classes are on the other side of the school, so I don't really run into many of them. Umm, there are a lot of people like that here though… I know a couple sophomores, maybe three juniors, hmm there is only really one freshman I know that looks like that."

"Oh." I sighed, feeling depressed. This was going to be harder than I thought. There had to be a couple thousand kids here, or more!

As Hilde led me to the office, she told me a little more about the school. There was a whole separate building in the back where all the athletics were. The main building was made up of four parts each three stories high with the cafeteria in the center. The office was pretty big, with several secretaries talking on the phones and teachers scolding students waiting for the principle.

I said goodbye to Hilde after promising to eat lunch with her and was directed into one of the offices. A scary lady introduced herself as 'Principle Une' and told me some useless stuff about the school. The only thing she said that really caught my attention was, "Now Duo, we were informed about your situation and I assure you that while on the campus you will be completely safe." 

Now being 'safe' didn't sound like such a bad thing, but the fact that all my teachers probably knew my situation did not make me feel good. I didn't need pity, or someone to feel sorry for me. I just hoped that they didn't treat me different, that was the last thing I needed. 

After talking with Hilde, I had concluded that friends weren't going to be a problem. Hilde seemed to like me, which made me more confident. Hell, I never had a problem making friends before, don't know why I've been pullin my hair out over this! But if the teachers start treating me different, then people start talking. And I really don't want to be considered a teachers pet. 

Une escorted me to my first class about ten minutes in. By the looks I got from the students, I could tell that the Principle usually wasn't the one to escort kids to classes. I introduced myself quickly and tried to hide the smile that was playing on my lips as I took in all the girls staring at me.

"Mr. Maxwell, you can have a seat by Mr. Barton." Noin, the teacher said with a smile. Now you can guess I was pretty shocked when I found out that 'Mr. Barton' was none other than the hot weird hairdo guy, who was still wearing that blue turtle neck.

As I sat down next to him he nodded his head slightly, "Trowa Barton." 

Well, so the guy doesn't like to talk, at least he was showing some friendliness. "Nice ta meet ya!" I chirped and settled into the uncomfortable chair. You'd at least think that they would be able to afford decent furniture in a place like this! 

Figures my first class was Art, the thing I suck at! And what is my first assignment you ask? Why, none other than draw your neighbor. I know I was smiling inside as I turned my desk to face Trowa's. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to get to know the guy… and try not to give away that I was a little attracted to him.

"So how long have you been at this school?" It sounded like a good start of a conversation, really it did! But this guy was a little hard to get through.

"Three years." 

I bit my lip and tried to concentrate on Trowa's eyebrows on my paper. I have to admit, I really am not good at art. Why was I put into this class anyway? Must have been a cruel joke by Agent Kemp.

"Aa… My first day," as if any line could be lamer. "Actually I've only been in this town for about a day. Got here last night. Ugh, it was torture trying to sleep last night! Ya know when you first sleep in a bed for the first time you always get that uncomfortable feeling…" I think I babbled like that for most of the class. I was really surprised though when Trowa actually started to make some comments. I guess he was warming up to me! Ah, the powers of my Maxwell charm!

"So what is there to do around here for fun?" I asked while finishing up my drawing. I compared it to him and decided it looked nothing like him. But hey, it was my first day and I tried! That's all that counts, ne? I hope the teacher thought so too.

"You kidding?" He raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "This town has everything… which is why there is nothing to do." I laughed at that, I couldn't believe this guy had actually made a joke, or a tiny tiny joke. But one none the less. 

At the end of class we showed each other our drawings. I was impressed, he did an amazing job of me… it actually looked like me! It kinda made me a little reluctant to show him mine. I wished I hadn't shown him, his eyebrow raised a little and he started to make a little choking noise that I think was a laugh.

Crossing my arms, I spit out my tongue. Yeah childish, but that was me. "Its not th~at bad!" 

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Turns out, Trowa was in my next class also, math. I smirked inside. Math was my best subject, I'd definitely beat him in this subject. I heard from some people that the math teacher was really strict, which made me cringe inside. There were always the scary teachers in every school.

I was introduced to the class once again but to my disappointment someone was already sitting in the seat next to Trowa. It was the Chinese boy, the second hot guy from the court yard.

I was directed to sit next to a pretty girl with long blond hair. She was perfect looking, it kinda made me sick. For the beginning of the class period I stared at her nails, trying to decide if they were real or not. I knew that they most likely weren't real, but still couldn't figure out how she made them look like they were. Must be majorly rich. She of course introduced herself as Relena Peacecraft daughter of a the Mayor of Vanibin City. Yeah she was defiantly rich. I had to hold back my laugh, wondering if she always introduced herself like that. 

Turns out we didn't really do much in math but listen to the lecture on stuff I already knew. I was getting pretty bored so I put my head on the desk to rest my eyes. Well, my resting eyes made me fall asleep and the next thing I know I'm being shaken. Now, being in my current mindset, that freaked the hell out of me. I ended up jumping up out of my chair and on top of my desk with wide eyes trying to figure out where I was. The rest of the class seemed as startled as I was.

I finally got back to my senses and made fast to cover up my mistake. I yawned from atop the desk and scratched the back of my head, "Oh, its just you." I said, staring at the teacher through my yawns. He looked pretty pissed, and the rest of the class was trying hard to hold back their laughter. I smirked before putting on my best apologizing smile. "I'm sorry teach, guess I couldn't get to sleep last night."

He flinched slightly.

My eyes narrowed… this guy knew… so all my teachers really did know! Just great! And what do you think the teacher did? Scold me? Nope! He goes back to his lesson like nothing ever happened! He didn't even tell me not to do it again, or say 'make sure you get more sleep Mr. Maxwell!' One thing I really did not need was to be treated differently. 

Stupid, stupid Kemp! I'm gonna have a talk with him next time I see him. He had no right to tell anyone that I have a psycho father wanting to kill me. I thought that the less people who knew the better? What happens if one of the teachers rat on me… what if…

I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. No one seemed to care much about what just happened, probably because it was my first day and they thought the teacher was going easy on me. I sighed and zoned out the rest of the lecture. This was not my day.

After two more boring classes it was finally lunch time. Hilde came running up to me, to my relief, I didn't think that I would be able to find her in the mass of people. She dragged me through one of the lines and I ended up with a plate full of noodles and weird yellow stuff. Then I was pulled to one of the tables near the back. 

To my surprise, it was the table that the three guys from the court yard were sitting. Hilde quickly introduced everyone. Turns out the Chinese guy's name was Wufei Chang. 

"Wufes is the captain of the karate club, ne?" Hilde grinned and Wufei just rolled his eyes. "This is Heero Yuy, he doesn't talk much, well, none of them do!" The Japanese boy's cobalt eyes looked into mine and I had to hide the shiver that ran down my spine.

"Nice ta meet ya, names Duo Maxwell." I smiled and ended up sitting next to Heero and his shiver worthy stares. Nothing could be better than this! My day was looking better already. Trowa was looking around the cafeteria like he was looking for someone. "Who ya looking for Tro?" I asked between mouthfuls of the yellow stuff which turned out to be mash potatoes with cheese mixed in. 

I heard Hilde snicker. "He's lookin for his boyfriend."

My eyes widened in surprise. Boyfriend? This school definitely was different, same sex relationships were usually frowned upon where I lived. Maybe that's why I couldn't really accept the fact that I was attracted to guys, well specifically three guys, and they were all 'damn hot'!

Trowa blushed slightly, "Eh? Where? I wanna meet him." I asked, I decided to go along with Hilde and start teasing Trowa.

"Oh, You'll meet him. Trowa usually isn't anywhere without him. I swear they stick to each other like horny rabbits." Hilde chimed. 

I laughed at the glare Trowa was now giving Hilde. Wufei only smirked slightly and nodded in agreement. Heero did absolutely nothing. Didn't even seem like he was paying much attention to anything going on. I'd have to ask Hilde what was up with him later.

"Oh and the best part…" Hilde grinned. "He's a freshman! Trowa likes his boys young!" She laughed loudly ignoring the death glare she was receiving.

"Quatre!" Just then, Trowa stood up and walked towards a small boy who had a huge backpack two sizes too large on. I figured that was the so called 'boyfriend'. He definitely looked like a freshman, I could only see the back of his head though. The boy was waving his hands around animatedly while talking to Trowa, who had an amused smile on his face. That was pretty weird, seeing him like that. Trowa seemed to be a totally different person now. 

I watched them for awhile, a little envious. All of a sudden Trowa pointed in my direction and I saw the small boy turn his head towards our table. 

Blond hair, blue eyes… Holy shit! 

The next thing I know, I had run out of the cafeteria as fast as I could. I could hear Hilde's confused voice calling after me but I never turned back around. I finally stopped when I was outside, on the school grounds somewhere. My heart was beating fast and I clutched my hands to my knees trying to catch my breath.

I kept screaming at myself in my head. 'Why did you run you fool?' I guess I was scared, scared that he wouldn't recognize me. I would know those blue eyes anywhere, that blond hair that looks exactly the same, that smile… Dill.

I sat down against the tree and closed my eyes. My brother was here, at this school. I had found him! But what was I doing? What would I say to him? What if he doesn't even want to see me? My head was spinning with 'what ifs', and I admit, I was scared! 'Ten years… he's fifteen right now… and has a boyfriend! Damn, and he's got one hell of a boyfriend at that.'

The bell rang and I got up slowly, my mind still in a turmoil. I guess there wasn't anything wrong with watching him from far away for awhile. I don't know when I would feel ready to face him, If ever… Quatre… that's what Trowa called him. Funny how I have my mind all set to do something and end up chickening out. 

But if he didn't recognize me… I think it would hurt me. I don't think I would be able to take it. I might go crazy, and that's the true reason for me being scared.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	4. Stage Relations

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Yaoi, Relena bashing, 

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Relations

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO?!" Hilde ran towards me as I walked into my fifth period class, English. "I was looking for you everywhere!"

"Aa… sorry sorry." She latched onto my arm and drug me across the room to an empty desk near one of the windows. I could tell that she was still mad about my little disappearing act by the way she was glaring at me. "I wont do it again." I promised, hoping she would take the hint and not ask 'why' I had run away.

"Good, you better not!" She crossed her arms and made a pouting face which I couldn't help but smile at. She was really adorable sometimes. Taking in my surroundings I noticed that Heero was also in this class, and only a couple desks away. Why hadn't I seen him until now? Oh, that's right, he's so quiet he's invisible!

"Hey Hilde," I whispered while sticking my hand out to poke her in the ribs. "What's up with Heero?" She flinched slightly and I kinda got the impression that I maybe shouldn't have asked. 

Sighing, she ran a hand through her bangs and looked in his direction. "You mean, why is he so quiet and… ummm what's the word, cold?" She continued after I nodded. "Well lets just say that certain things happened to him that kinda made him act like that. I cant tell you, its not my place to say." Just then Heero looked back at the two of us and glared. Woops, hope he didn't hear us. 

I took it I wasn't going to find out anything about him from Hilde, I figure I could ask Trowa or Wufei, but if Hilde the loud mouth was reluctant to talk, then there was no way that I was going to get anything out of the 'mime squad.' 

"Hey Hilde," Just for fun, I poked her ribs again, which caused a cute little glare to appear on her face. She doesn't pull off the 'I'm mad' act that well. "Tell me about Trowa's boyfriend."

She looked a little surprised and her eyebrow raised in question. "Quatre? You want to know about him?" I nodded my head up and down enthusiastically. She leaned in closer to me so she wouldn't have to speak loud and get us in trouble. "He's a cute kid. One hell of a rich kid at that. Did you know that he's the heir to the Winner Corporation? Well of course you didn't. Anyway…" She paused as the teacher looked in are direction. The woman was pretty nice, her name was something like Poe, and I heard she was also a part time nurse. Hilde continued after Poe turned back to the board, her long curly pigtails bouncing behind her. "Trowa and him started going out in the beginning of the school year. I've never seen him happier. It was a little weird at first, you know, the whole 'Trowa likes guys' part. Especially since I had a little crush on him too!" 

I chuckled a little and she gave me another 'trying to be angry' look. "About a couple months ago, it was rumored that his family was in a big feud over who was going to inherit all their dough. I guess some of Quatre's sisters were pretty upset that he was getting the fortune since he's the youngest. Did you know he's got like a ton of sisters. I don't know what his parents were thinking raising twenty or so kids!" Her face twisted in what I guessed was disgust. "Hmm, that's all I really know about the kid. Except… there was another rumor going around recently that he was adopted, which would explain why the sisters were so mad. But that's just a rumor." ~Bingo!~ "If ya want to know more you might want to ask Trowa." 

That was something I definitely did not want to do. 

So Trowa was dating my little brother… how I would love to be able to act like the good brother and threaten to beat him up if he didn't take care of, or treat Quatre right. That would be fun! I sighed and looked out the window… sometimes life is not fair!

Outside there were people playing basketball. Must have been PE, my next class. I was about to turn my head when something caught my attention. On the court was a huge guy with red hair hovering over a short kid. Now the only reason this caught my attention was because the short kid was none other than Quatre. He was holding the ball near his stomach while looking for anyone open to pass to. All of a sudden he threw it over the giant guys head in a last effort attempt to get rid of it. Someone from the other team caught it and made a basket just as Quatre lost his balance and ended up falling at the giants feet.

I laughed out loud at this, which caused the teacher to glare at me. Quatre wasn't good at sports, I guess I cant blame him. I was always the worst at sports until I got into High School, all of a sudden I grew a little and tried a little harder. Yeah, it was hard work, but it paid off. 

I looked back out towards Quatre, he was in the middle of a group of guys laughing. A smile fell across my lips as I watched him. He looked happy, which was one of the things I had been worrying about. I had no clue if he was going to like his new family or not when he left the orphanage those ten years ago. I just hoped he was as happy as he looked.

The bell rang and I was hauled out the door by and overenthusiastic Hilde. "So what's your next class?" She snatched the paper out of my hand before I could answer her. "Hmm, Physical Education! That sucks. But I think Heero might have that. Dontcha Heeeeroo?" She twirled around grinning at the grumpy looking boy. "Do me a fave and show him to class, ne?" She didn't wait for an answer and ran down the hall looking like one of those gophers off of that one game with the giant hammer, popping up and down in various places while weaving through the crowd. 

I was left with the glum looking Heero to be my guide. Oh, and what a cheerful guide he was! Talked the whole way, I wish. Actually I ended up running after him and his speed walk. When I finally caught up to him he just glanced at me from the corner of his eye and ignored me as I walked beside him.

"Geez, could you slow down a little? I feel like I'm trying to walk next to a car." Surprisingly, he did slow down. "Ah, thanks man!" It took awhile to get to the Athletics building in the back of the school, but I wasn't complaining. I kept stealing glances at the silent boy next to me. Oh yes, I was quite happy! Heero was one of those people you could never tire of looking at. He wasn't perfect, no, but that's what made him all the more beautiful. My eyes fell upon a tiny scar just above his eyebrow. Come to think of it, he had a lot of scars. I've noticed a few small ones that were fading on his arms, and I found out that he had one long scar on his left leg as we changed for PE. It was barely visible now, it would probably disappear with time. It rested just above his knee. How he managed to get it, I could not figure out. 

Turns out, PE was a pretty fun class. We played basketball like all the other classes had. Heero was on the opposing team, and damn was he good! I thought that he would probably play half ass or something, but no, all his shots were with freakishly precise accuracy. Half way through the game I thought I was going to pass out from exhaustion. A pain was starting to build in my chest from breathing so hard and I could feel my hair sticking to my forehead in wet clumps.

Just when I thought I couldn't take any more, Coach Khushrenada dismissed us to go change. I was a little worried, usually I don't get exhausted like that so fast. The only thing I could think of was that it was caused from by stress. Yeah, it gets pretty stressful trying to get used to a sudden change. 

On the way home my feet were starting to drag and I felt like I was hauling a huge elephant behind me. My bed sounded really, really good right then. I could probably sleep for days! 

By the time I actually got inside my apartment, there was sweat dripping down my forehead and I was panting pretty bad. I didn't pay much attention to anything as I made my way to my bedroom falling directly onto the big bed.

What an exhausting day. Its funny when you think about the things we can accomplish in a day. Things we don't even realize. People can walk miles and miles without even stepping outside! I bet just playing basketball took about two miles worth of steps. Yet, in our minds, if we were to go out and start slowly walking a mile, most of us would get tired right off the bat. Why? Because of the boredom of it probably. It is something you don't want to do, and therefore your mind interprets it as a bad thing and you get tired faster. It's the weird things like that that make us pretty weird creatures, ne? 

I didn't even think I had done that much that day, but it was more of a mental drain on me than a physical one. I used to think that anything could be done with the mind. Like if you force yourself to believe in something it will happen. Well, it never really worked out for me, but I did try other things. When I would get sick, I used to think that if I kept telling myself that I wasn't sick then I would get better. So pretty much I ignored my sickness and it kinda made it worse. 

Yeah, I'm a little thick headed at times. Which is why I ignored the temperature I knew I had and went to school the next day. I felt like crap, but I wouldn't admit to myself that I was 'that' sick. And in truth, I really didn't want to miss the second day of school. 

By the time lunch rolled around I was feeling much better. Food helped a lot, I had went to bed yesterday without anything to eat and in the morning I woke up late and ended up getting a doughnut again. I really needed to find a better place to pick up my breakfast. 

I saw Quatre around the halls a lot, and let me tell you, the first thing that came into my mind was 'klutz'. I think he spilled his books at least five times! Not to mention the time he ran into a tree walking to lunch. It was hard not to laugh at him, he was so cute! Just like a little brother should be, ne? Trowa seemed to miraculously appear almost every time Quatre's books hit the floor. The short blond would get all red faced from embarrassment, it was very amusing.

Was I stalking you ask? Why, yes I was. I couldn't help it! I would scan the crowds every chance I got, hoping to see a patch of blond hair. Trowa almost saw me one time when I was following Quatre as he made his way to lunch, that was pretty scary. He'd probably think I was trying to steal his boyfriend.

At lunch I found out more about the guys, like how Wufei gets beat up by this one blond girl with forked eyebrows every once in a while. 

"There is no honor in fighting a woman!" He had yelled when Hilde impersonated the blond girl trying to pick a fight. Picturing Wufei cowering with some girl hovering over him was to much. I was rolling on the floor laughing so hard that my stomach started to hurt. 

"Oh yeah? And where's the honor in getting beat up by a girl?" Wufei just scowled at Hilde, I could see he was a little embarrassed by the pink tint on his cheeks. Maybe he actually liked the girl? And that's why he let her beat him up. That thought just made me laugh harder which earned a death glare from Wufei. 

I also learned a little more about Trowa, like how he won all of the art contests in the city. No wonder he laughed at my drawing, damn him. He was also a son of a circus performer who left his family a couple years ago. Him and his sister live with their depressive mother in one of the older houses on the outer rim of the city. She had never worked and they were supposedly being supported by their dead grandfathers money.

Trowa hadn't even batted an eye when Hilde had told this to me, like he really didn't care much about his family situation being so bad an all. Kinda made me think a little and I'm reminded that I am not the only one whose had it hard. There's are millions of other children worse off than me, like some of the kids at the orphanage. 

A couple years back we got a little kid brought in whose parents beat him so bad he was now crippled in one arm. There was also a girl who was born blind and her parents didn't want to deal with her so they put her in a dumpster outside of a bar. Things like that make me feel like I really don't have it that bad. Especially now, since I have finally found my brother.

Hilde, of course, was the easiest to get to talk about herself. She was the daughter of a fashion designer working downtown. This was a little weird to here, seeing as Hilde is one of those people that you 'know' just jump out of bed and throw on whatever's there. Kinda like me, clothes are clothes, and I'm not going to waste my time for the benefit of the people who look at me. Well, I admit I am a little picky about my looks, I seem to only buy black clothing cause I look best in it. 

"You haven't told us about yourself." Hilde, so bluntly pointed out. 

I groaned. "Umm, well what do you want to know?" Gah, stupid! I should have lied and said, 'Oh my life's boring,' or 'Yeah I have a mom, dad and my dog skip!' Haha, wouldn't that be funny!

"Morals? Values? Religion? Family? Pets? Why you moved here? What's your favorite color? Sexual preferences?" Hilde listed off. I could fell myself blush slightly as she so calmly said the last one. And worse of all, Trowa, Wufei and Heero were now staring at me with interest.

"Jeez, you really want to know everything don't you?" I glared at her, kinda hoping she'd say 'Oh never mind Duo, I don't want to know anything about you, nope none at all!'

Yeah right! Ok, so how do you get out of a situation like this, hmm? Well, luckily I am a master at the art of diversion. I looked around and saw Relena Peacecraft, the blond girl with freaky nails, walking over towards our table. 

"Hey Hilde, who's that?" I could see Hilde's smile turn into an ugly frown as her eyes fell upon the girl. 

"Ugh, Heero don't look now but Queeny's comin our way." The table kinda gave a little jolt, which turned out to be from Heero as he jumped up out of his seat, silently disappearing into a nearby crowd. Trowa and Wufei snickered across the table. 

"What?" Obviously they knew something I didn't. My question didn't get answered though since the Relena girl had reached our table.

"Do you guys know where Heero went? I saw him here just a minute ago… hmm strange, maybe he started back to class. Well I guess I could go meet him there. We have to get to work on our history project and all." She flipped her hair behind her shoulders and smiled. "Well thank you anyway." As she walked away I noticed how her plaid shoes matched her backpack. It made me wonder if she had a different backpack for every pair of shoes she owned. Which was what? Like fifty pairs? Dang, that would be a lot of money, and those back packs cost a lot. Wait… scratch that, the shoes cost more, I think. I wouldn't really know, I've only had about five pairs of shoes in my life, always bought a couple sizes larger so when I grow they would last longer.

"Yeah! See ya later Queeny!" Hilde yelled back in a sarcastic tone. She crossed her arms while glaring at the blond girls back. "You guys ever notice how she treats us like we aren't even there! She was having a frikin conversation with HERSELF!" I took it that no one liked Miss Queeny Relena by the way the others nodded in agreement with Hilde.

"So what's with her and Heero?" I asked. This was good, diversion successful! Hopefully she would forget about what she had asked and give me time to think of an answer.

"Stupid girl, she lives right next door to Heero and has this little fantasy that 'the boy next door' is in love with her!" Rubbing her temple she looked at me, seeming pretty tired all of a sudden. "She reads waaaaay too many romance novels!"

"Hmmm… so does that mean Heero is a rich kid?" Hey I tried, so far nothing I had asked about him was answered. It was like 'they' all knew something and no one was going to tell me!

"Something like that." Wufei answered for her.

Damn! Another half ass answer. I groaned and put my head down on the table. I was starting to feel a little dizzy again. Just great, especially since we were playing basketball again today. 

By the time I got to PE, I was feeling like I had last night, dizzy and puke-ishly sick! Heero was put on my team this time, to my relief. Maybe I wouldn't have to try so hard since he was so good. 

Well my hopes were shattered when I was put up against one of the tall guys that was really good. Ten minutes were left of class and I was now 'really' feeling the effects caused by me ignoring my sickness. My feet were dragging and for the last twenty minutes Heero had been staring at me weird. I felt like I was going to pass out… And that's exactly what happened. Everything seemed to fade out like one of those tricks they do with the movie camera. You see everything starting to blur and slowly go black from the edge inward. Then the world went dark. Kaboom! He's down!

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I was having a really nice dream, something about puppy dogs and ice cream, when I abruptly woke to a big bang. Now you can imagine how scared I was when I opened my eyes to see a man with a scary nose and mushroom hair standing over me. I sat up quickly with wide eyes. It took me awhile to come enough to my senses to realize I was in a bed. 

"What happened?" I guess I shouldn't have sat up because right as I did I had the urge to puke, and I did, right over the edge of the bed.

"Ah, shoot! I knew I forgot something." The old man whined as he handed me a bucket and started to rush around the room looking for cleaning utensils. "You fainted while playing basketball, seems you have a pretty high temperature… Ah there it is!" He came over with a washcloth setting it over my head. "Your stone faced friend carried you in." 

Surprisingly, I felt even sicker after what the man had just said. How embarrassing! Having to be carried in here, by Heero of all people! My day couldn't get any worse! The doctor took my temperature after scolding me for not staying in bed this morning. I could feel myself getting more and more depressed as the minutes dragged on. 

Tomorrow I would have to stay home! I wouldn't be able to see Quatre! And I would probably be bed ridden, bored out of my mind. What could be worse?

Kemp entered the room about ten minutes later looking worried. His face showed relief as he saw that I was awake and had a pissed look upon my face. Yeah, I was pissed. I still couldn't believe that I had gotten sick, stupid, stupid me!

"I got a call at work saying you had fainted at school, you scared the hell out of me kid." He turned over and his eyes widened when he saw the weird looking doctor guy, well maybe he was a doctor but he was working in the school so he was probably a nurse. 

The Doctor/Nurse guy gave Kemp a weird look, they just kinda stood there and glared at each other. "Ummm, guys?" My hands were waving around in the air in attempt to catch their attention. Kemp crossed his arms over his chest and looked away with a growl. The doctor just kinda chuckled a little.

"Glad to see you aren't still causing trouble now that you are out of school. And a police officer, sheesh! What is the world coming to?" 

"Oh be quiet you old bag! At least I'm not working as a nurse babysitting!" Kemp growled.

Hmmm… so it seems they know each other. "Hey! Don't call me a baby!" I yelled at Kemp. He looked at me sheepishly apologizing under his breath. "I don't know how you two know each other but I reaaalllyy want to get out of here, do you think you could save the sissy arguments until later?"

Kemp sighed and helped me out of bed, more than glad to leave. His arm rested around my shoulder giving me support though it kinda made me feel uncomfortable. I could walk just fine… well if you consider fine to be swaying back and forth a little. 

"You didn't bring your police car did ya?" I asked as we stepped out of the school.

He just laughed slightly as we came up to the car. "Sorry, cant help it." I groaned loudly and he walked in front of me with one of his eyebrows raised in question. "Jeez, its not that big a deal is it?"

"Well so~rry if I don't want to parade around in your bat mobile for all the world to see!" So I was being a little rude, I was sick damnit, and being in a bad mood did nothing to make it better.

He helped me into the car and we started to short drive to my place. As the car went through the city shops and past apartments, I couldn't help but look down almost every alley and in every window. I knew that Hall wasn't here, but my eyes wouldn't listen to me as they scanned up and around all of the buildings just like they had done on the walk to school. 

We drove past a supermarket where I saw a mother yelling at her son who was now balling his eyes out. It reminded me of sister Helen, and how she use to take me shopping and it would always end up bad, by me getting into trouble and her getting mad. I missed her, and father Maxwell. I thought it would be so great leaving the orphanage and living on my own. But now that I'm here, I realized that it isn't so great being by yourself. I never thought I would miss them as much as I did right then, after all, they were my family. I'd have to see if Kemp would let me call them from the station or something.

I looked over to him and I started to feel a little bad for being so rude before, after all, he did come and get me. "Thanks fer pickin me up an all." My voice was pretty raspy and it made me realize that my throat was pretty soar. Another problem added to the list. 

"No problem, I'm just glad your alright." He looked at me before adding, "Well, I guess your not 'that' alright."

"So how do you know that old geezer?" I asked him as the car pulled into one of the apartment parking places. 

He growled and I could tell he was pissed again by the way his lips stretched to form a thin line across his face. "His name is Gee. He was my mechanics teacher when I went to school."

"No shit?" That was like what? Twelve years ago? I wonder what he was like back then. "Why do you and him seem to hate each others guts?" Kemps knuckles were turning white from the tight grip he had on the steering wheel.

"He failed me because he didn't like me, so I kinda got in a fist fight with him. He ended up getting his teacher's license, or whatever, taken away and I lost my credit for that class, plus was suspended." He smiled and turned towards me. "But that's all in the past, though I never could get to like the guy, he still hates my guts too. Come on," Opening the car door he stood up and stretched. "Lets go inside and get something to eat.

Kemp ended up buying me take out for dinner and he stayed long enough to make sure I'd be alright. It was actually really fun hanging out with him, he acted like a giant kid. And he 'still' didn't take off his sunglasses, even when in my dim lighted apartment. I'd have to ask him about those one day. 

We talked a lot over dinner, which I barely ate because I was afraid I would hurl. Turns out, Kemp wasn't all that rich as I had assumed he was. Jeez, me and my big imagination. Don't know how I ever figure him for rich, just look at his shoes! They will tell you how poor he is. Well, he's actually not that bad off, just not extremely wealthy either. Kemp told me that he lived in an apartment like this one about a couple blocks away. With his girlfriend. 

"You've got a girlfriend?" My eyes were pretty wide as I stared at him, well I stared at his glasses. 

"Yup, real sweet, she is!" His face seemed to light up while talking about her. For some reason I felt a little envious.

"Then what the hell are you doing here with me?!"

He scratched the back of his head and his forehead crinkled a little like it sometimes did when he was deep in thought, "Good point!"

I laughed at that, I don't know how he ever ended up as a police officer, he just didn't seem to be police material. Too much of a goofy nice guy. I couldn't see him running down the street chasing someone with a gun yelling 'freeze don't move!' 

"I guess I better get back, I'll stop by sometime tomorrow and bring you some medicine." 

Kemp left, and I was alone in the apartment once again. The lonely feeling had come back. I don't know how people are able to live on their own, I'm going crazy! I decided that the best thing to do would be to just sleep. Well, actually that was really the only thing there was to do, other than watch television. I 'really' wanted to walk around the streets and see the sights, but my stomach didn't agree. The heater, I set a little higher than usual before falling into bed.

Sleeping seemed like a good thing to do at the time, but when your sick, sleeping can be painful. I don't think I ended up falling asleep till well past one o'clock. My life seemed to be spinning more and more in a crazy direction. In all of two weeks I had; found out that my dad was out of jail, I moved to Vanibin, found my brother, found out that I might be attracted to guys, and had the fear of Hall finding me hanging over my shoulders… no wonder I got sick!

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Ding Ding Ding

Bang Bang Ding Ding Ding

I awoke to the freaky noise of somebody banging on my door while trying to ring the doorbell with the jingle bells tune. Sitting up a little too fast I ended up falling out of bed with the sheets tumbling after me. "Oof… ALRIGHT I HEAR YA!" I yelled. The noise didn't stop.

I dragged myself to the dresser mirror to make sure I wasn't sporting drool all over my face. I had apparently forgot to get out of my clothes the night before and they had big wrinkles now. My hair was still in its braid but had bits and pieces falling out everywhere. But the worst part was that I probably still smelled like throw up since I hadn't taken a shower yesterday.

"Ah screw it!" Walking out of the room I made my way to the front door. My feet felt pretty heavy and I could feel the dizziness coming back. Finally reaching the door, I yanked it open hard, "WHAT?!"

Hilde stood wide eyed in the little hallway staring at me. I could see Wufei, Trowa and Heero in the hall behind her looking pretty much like they always do, expressionless. 

"Jeezus Duo! You look like crap!" Hilde pushed her way past me walking into my apartment. Somewhere in my brain a little voice was telling me that they weren't suppose to be here. 

"How'd you know where I lived?" By now everyone was inside and making themselves comfortable on my little coach and chairs. They seemed a little surprised as they looked around my apartment.

"Aa, we went to the office and tried to get your address but the stupid people wouldn't give it to us for some reason. So we had Heero hack into the school's computer system to get it." My eyes widened and I looked over towards Heero. Shit! What else did they find out?

"Y-you did?" Heero just looked at me and nodded quickly before turning his head to continue looking around my apartment.

"You live alone." Wufei stated. I looked over and saw that he had come out of my bedroom. Gah! They were a big buncha snoops, all of them! 

Hilde stared at me in disbelief. "WHAT?!" 

Putting my hands behind my head I grinned at her. "Y-yeah, but… what are you guys doing out of school?"

Trowa made that clucking noise that's suppose to pass for a laugh. Hilde just raised an eyebrow at me while staring at me in amusement. "Duo, it's four o'clock!"

Ok, that was weird. I walked over and sat down next to Wufei on the coach, leaning my head back I closed my eyes and sighed. 

My brain, which was really slow today, notified me that Hilde had started to speak again. "We came by to check out your pad and make sure you weren't dead, who would have thought you'd be living by yourself! Aren't you a little young? Do you have a job? Where are your--" She stopped speaking as Heero glared at her. 

My stomach growled, interrupting Hilde and Heero's staring contest. "Man… I haven't eaten anything all day!"

"Well of course not, you were sleeping doofus!" Hilde jumped up and went over to my fridge. Like I said, they were all a buncha snoops! "I'll make you something!" One look in the fridge, however, stopped her. "Damn, no wonder your hungry! How can you have nothing in your fridge?!"

"Sorry, hadn't had time to go to the store, and I've been puking up everything that I do eat so what's the use, ne?" They all looked a little green when I mentioned puking, well, all except Heero. He just kept looking at me with a weird look on his face. That was pretty freaky, and I started to fidget a little in my seat thinking that maybe he 'had' found out more in my school files. But ya never know, I don't really think that they would put any information like that in there, it would be too risky seeing as even someone like Heero, a high-schooler, could hack into it.

The front door opened loudly pulling me from my thoughts. I was surprised to see Kemp entering with a couple of big brown bags in his arms. He looked over to me, "Ah! Duo, I brought you some medicine, sorry I couldn't stop by earlier I was…" His eyes widened when he finally noticed the other occupants in the room. My heart started to beat a little faster and I jumped to my feet.

Shit. "Kemp!"

TBC.

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Gah, I know, not a lot happened in this chapter. Sorry, sorry, but I wanted to get a little of the background on each character put in.

Hope you didn't get to mad at the cliffhanger! I couldn't help it, I swear! 

Thank you for the Reviews! I will try my best to put in some of your guy's suggestions! 


	5. Stage of Truths

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Umm… Bad language?

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage of Truths

"Friends from school?" Kemp asked while looking Trowa, Wufei, Heero and Hilde up and down like he was strip searching them with his eyes. 

"AH! I didn't tell them where I lived I swear!" I said quickly, for some reason I was a little afraid that he'd get angry and I'd have to leave for a different town. We never really went over whether or not I was allowed to tell people where I lived and I kinda assumed I wasn't suppose to.

Nervousness began to set in as I watched his thick dark eyebrow raise slightly while looking over my guests scared faces. Well, ok, I was exaggerating again, all were scared looking except for Heero. He just glared back at the man as if asking, 'who the hell are you?' 

"They just kinda got into my school file and got the address, just came to see me cause I was sick an all!" Kemp got a weird look on his face as I mumbled this. I think he was confused about something, but I couldn't really tell since his eyes were hidden beneath the dark shades. 

"Duo, calm down and come take some medicine." 

I sighed, relieved, as he smiled while handing a bottle to me. Once he was sure I had taken some, he walked over to get a better look at my guests. "Aa… this is Kemp, he's sorta… I guess he's kinda my guardian for now." I said, still a little nervous about the whole situation.

"What's this about getting into the school's file system?" Kemp asked while sitting down on the sofa chair. He looked at their scared faces and realization seemed to dawn on him that he was a police officer. "Ah! Sorry, didn't mean to scare you! Don't worry I'm not gonna get you guys in trouble or anything." 

I sighed in relief. Yeah, Kemp was a pretty cool cop.

Hilde jumped up and walked over to Kemp holding out her hand. "Hey! I'm Hilde!" She had a big smile on her face and I took it that she was taking a liking to him. "This is Trowa, Wu, and Heero." She said with little enthusiasm. "So you're a cop? How come you're here with Duo? You live with him? He told us he lived alone, you can guess how shocking that was. I don't know many High school kids that can live alone. Is it even allowed? I thought there was a certain law saying they couldn't, god knows I wish I could leave my mum." Kemp smiled as Hilde put her charm to work. 

"Yeah, I'm a police officer. Mostly work in the office though than on the streets. No, I just watch over Duo from time to time." I noticed how he purposely avoided the other questions she had asked.

Hilde's eyes seemed to light up and she moved a little closer to Kemp so she was now leaning on the arm of the chair. "Really? That's so cool, I wish I knew a cop! I could get a bunch of free favors and everything, I've always wondered what it would be like to go to a police station without cuffs on." Kemp's eyes widened a little at that. I was a little shocked as well. Did Hilde just say that she had been arrested before?

Kemp chuckled, obviously amused with Hilde's bluntness. The tension in the room seemed to slowly dissolve. That was one of the amazing things about Hilde, she could manipulate the angry atmosphere to her favor with witty comments and cute smiles! Being around awkward atmospheres was probably normal for her, seeing as she hung out with the three quietest people in the school, well two quietest. Wufei had seemed to be quiet at first glance, but once you breach a subject of his interest he would go off like a badly played record that you just want to chuck across the room. Especially on subjects like martial arts and for some reason politics. I once made the mistake of commenting on something the Peacecraft family had done, Wufei went off on a long lector about why they were going to be the downfall of this city with their corrupt ways. I don't think he stopped talking until lunch was well past over and we were standing in front of my class, which I ended up being late to.

I watched from across the room as Kemp seemed to be struggling with himself about something. His face turned serious as he asked the question that seemed to be bothering him, "So… how was it you were able to get Duo's address?" I could see Heero paling a little bit as Kemp turned in his direction.

Hilde was the only one to speak up. "Aa… Heero's real good at computers, so I made him hack into the schools system to get it." Kemp's eyebrows raised a little and a shocked look spread across his features. This confused me, why was he acting so strange? 

I looked over to Heero and saw that he was now glaring daggers at Hilde, who seemed to be lost in her own little world staring dreamily at Kemp. What came next really confused me, Kemp looked over to Heero and I could swear the expressionless boy looked a little scared. 

"You hacked into Duo's file?" Kemp didn't look angry, like I thought he would, more on the lines of 'shocked as hell'. I guess he was just surprised that a high school kid could do something like that. 

Heero had his glare back on his face and was staring down Kemp as if to say, 'You got a problem with that?' Heh, I think I am actually starting to be able to understand the Heero language! Go me!

"Hmmm." Kemp's eyebrows were crinkled together again as he thought hard about something. I really wish I could get in his head to see why he was acting so strange. "Interesting." Was all he said before walking over to the brown bags and pulling some stuff out. 

I followed behind him and peered into a bag, Food! "YAY! You brought me something to eat!" I glomped one of the paper bags and began the process of tearing out the contents.

"Aa… got you some soups to make since your sick, and I thought I'd make some grilled cheeses." He looked over to the four guests, two of which were now watching TV, Wufei and Trowa. "Anyone want grilled cheese?"

Four pairs of eyes stared at him hungrily and Hilde let out a big 'woohoo!' 

Kemp made them all sandwiches and the meal was pretty much eaten in silence except for an occasions comment by Hilde complementing Kemp on almost everything. I didn't pay much attention to anything else, too busy concentrating on getting the food successfully into my stomach in hopes that I wouldn't get sick and embarrass myself. 

The guys seemed to warm up to Kemp after awhile, at least they no longer looked at him like they thought he was going to bust them on the spot. Kemp however, kept staring at Heero and it was really getting on my nerves. Then the dreaded words came out of his mouth.

"Heero, can you come down to the station with me for a little while." The sandwich fell from my hand onto the table surface. Eyes wide, I stared at Kemp who was still waiting for an answer from Heero.

"Kemp!" I jumped up out of my chair quickly, intending on yelling at Kemp, when I started to feel dizzy like I was going to pass out again. My vision blurred a little and the kitchen was slowly disappearing. Luckily someone caught me as I tilted side ways with my eyes clamped shut trying to fight off the wave of dizziness. My feet seemed to lift off of the floor and I realized someone was probably carrying me. Kemp's voice in the background made me open my eyes a crack. 

Heero was holding me over my bed, staring coldly at Kemp who was pulling back the covers of my bed. He was mumbling something that sounded a lot like 'hospital' and my heart nearly stopped at that.

"No." Gripping the front of Heero's shirt unintentionally, I buried my head in his chest. "Mm Fuck naa Hospppitalsss, k?" That's the last thing I remember for I past out for what seems like the fifth time since coming to Vanibin city. 

I woke up a little while later feeling surprisingly better, I didn't throw up my food! Kemp was gone along with Heero. Hilde, Trowa and Wufei I found in the kitchen trying to make something resembling cake. Their heads turned away from the glowing over as I walked into the kitchen.

"Duo! Your awake!" Hilde yelled, bouncing over and taking a hold of my arm. She led me away from the kitchen to the coach. "How ya feeling? I think Kemp said that there was a bad side effect to the medicine he gave you. That's why you past out. He asked us to stay until you woke up so we thought we would make ya something good!" 

"It was suppose to be good! But Hilde 'had' to add extra sugar." Wufei was looking into the oven with his arms across his chest and a giant spoon in one hand. I idly wondered what he would look like wearing an apron and giant chef hat.

Trowa smirked. "At least she wasn't the one to add marshmallows." 

"Look whose talking, you added pistachios! Of all the nuts, you had to pick the grossest and the greenest!" Hilde butted in while glaring at the two.

I couldn't help but laugh a little, they acted like siblings, always fighting over stupid stuff. "So whadya make me?" I asked while trying to peer over the counter into the oven.

"Over sweetened, marshmallow, pistachio brownies." Trowa answered and then burst out in another fit of his so called 'laughing' after seeing the expression on my face. "Trust me, its good."

"Yeah right, I'll decide that when I can actually get myself to put it in my mouth." I looked around, yep, Heero was gone. "Kemp took Heero with him?" I asked, hoping that they would know something about why he wanted Heero to go to the police station.

"Aa… he said he wasn't in trouble, just wanted to get him to do something for him. He wouldn't tell us what though. And believe me, I tried. I'll have to force it out of Heero on Monday." Hilde put her hand over my forehead as she talked, and jokingly checked my pulse to make sure I was still alive. Annoyed, I pushed her off the coach which set her off in a giggle fit. 

Shit, today was Friday and I forgot to ask Kemp if I could call Sister Helen. I didn't really think that Hilde, Trowa or Wufei had a cell phone. They didn't really seem the type and I didn't want to drag Kemp to the station on his day off just so I could use their phone. I hope the sister and father weren't worrying too much. I used the words 'worrying too much', because I know that the sister was worrying about me, if only a little. Kinda like a mother would, having her son leave the house for the first time to join the working class or go to college. 

The oven chimed and I looked over to see Wufei pulling out a black and white substance. His bottom lip was pulled in between his teeth and I could see his thin eyebrows starting to come together as he tried to figure out 'what' exactly he was holding. A big grin spread across my face, "I say Wufei tests it out to make sure it is edible. After all, you wouldn't want me getting sicker now would you Wu?" He just glared at me and we had a little staring contest before he finally caved in with a sigh.

In the end, we ate the whole batch of brownies by our fat little selves. Of course, I ate the least amount, which was about two or three brownies. They were really good, surprisingly, and Hilde kept complimenting herself and telling everyone how she was a genius at cooking. It was pretty late by the time they left. And let me tell you, I tried everything short of begging to keep them here as long as I could. But no, all good things must end, and I was left with a pile of dirty dishes and the sound of crickets for my company. 

After staring at the dirty dishes for a couple minutes and deciding that they weren't going to wash themselves, I gave up and started the grueling task. Maybe I would tire out and be able to sleep afterwards. That wasn't looking to happen though, I was too much on a sugar high. 

Standing in front of the sink I reached in to pull out the soap when my body suddenly froze up. The room was quiet, and I listened distantly to the traffic on the streets below. Nothing seemed abnormal, yet…

I walked over to my window and looked out. Nothing. There was no one there, no one watching me. So why the hell am I so scared? My arms were shaking slightly and I tried to rub away the goose bumps that were appearing on my skin. Walking around the house, I closed all the blinds quickly before feeling safe enough to take on the task of dishes once again.

I was really starting to become paranoid.

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Monday rolled around, and I was thrilled when Kemp told me I was well enough to go to school. Not that I wouldn't have gone anyway. He had come over for most of the day on Sunday to spend with me, he even brought over a picture of his girlfriend, which I must say was surprising. She was really thin and had pale creamy skin which made her long brown hair stand out. The weird thing though, was that she always had her hair in two long braids that were now a little above her knees. I really wanted to meet her now, and Kemp said that he would bring her over sometime and we might swap 'braid stories'. 

School started the same as always except for one little thing, coming into Art first hour, I was pulled out the door by Noin who had a worried look on her face.

"Duo! Is everything going alright?" I could see the concern in her eyes as she questioned me quietly in the hall. After convincing her that everything was fine, she finally let me back into the classroom where a couple students were looking at me with confused expressions. And that was only the beginning. 

Walking to lunch, I was stopped by Principle Une, and several staff members. They all had a look of pity on their faces which made me want to just run and hide in the bathroom the whole day. Pity always made me feel weak, and anger was starting to well inside of me as I looked upon the teachers faces as they questioned and pried. I really wanted to punch something, get my frustrations out. I think I just might ask Wufei more about this 'Karate club.' 

After I got away from Une and her questions, I went to look for Hilde and the guys. They were outside sitting under one of the big trees. It was a nice warm day, with cool wind that'd make anyone feel like cutting class if only to lay in the grass. Most of the students were out littering the grounds on days like this and if you were to walk into the cafeteria you'd be surprised at how empty it was. 

Heero was sitting next to Hilde, both leaning against the thick tree trunk eating the remains of their lunches. Wufei was a few feet away in the same meditative position I had seen him in on the first day of school. He just opened one eye as he felt my presence before going back to ignoring everything. Sitting down in front of Hilde, I leaned back taking in the warm air. 

"Still sick?" Hilde asked between mouthfuls of potato chips. I just nodded slightly and glanced in Heero's direction. His eyes were pinned on me and it made me shudder. His face showed a weird expression and I think he was trying hard not to say something. I had noticed that a lot lately and I couldn't help but wonder why he had been looking at me like that, with a look of confusion or maybe concern? His expressions were too hidden for me to figure out exactly 'what' it was going on inside that skull of his. 

"WUFEI!! LOOK! LOOK!" Hilde suddenly jumped to her feet, scaring the hell out of me with her yelling. Wufei just glared at her while rolling his eyes at her over exaggerated arm movements.

"What now woman?" He said, picking himself up off the ground and wiping away the leaves that had accumulated on his white pants.

"Dorothy!" She pointed in the direction of the school where I could see a blond girl with hair in a pony tail and… forked eyebrows? "I'm going to go talk to her!" Hilde announced causing Wufei to groan.

"You are not going to talk to her." He snarled, crossing his arms over his chest in order to look more demanding.

"Says who? I wanna see why she always beats up on ya."

"The HELL?! Mind your own business woman." he growled and jumped forward in attempt to get a hold of her arm.

Hilde just laughed, dodging quickly, while running towards the Dorothy girl. Mumbling something about 'Injustice' Wufei ran after her trying to catch up. The look on his face was priceless, almost as if he was terrified of what Hilde was promising to do.

I was left alone with Heero, ::shiver::.

Sighing, I looked over to him again and noticed that he was not looking at me anymore, but was lost in thought. "Hey, have you seen Trowa?" I asked, trying to get rid of the creepy silence. Maybe I could go spy on him and Quatre some more.

"He's right there." Heero extended his arm, pointing behind me. My eyes widened as I turned to see Trowa making his way over to where we were sitting, Quatre right beside him. 

I could feel my breath quickening as I automatically looked around for an escape. Finding none that wouldn't be too obvious, I decided to go up instead. When Trowa turned his head slightly to say something to Quatre, I jumped up grabbing the lowest branch of the tree. Quickly, I hauled myself up the tree, high enough to where I would be concealed by the branches. I could only imagine the look of confusion that must have been on Heero's face.

It took me awhile to calm myself enough to peer over the branches to the ground below. Trowa and Quatre had reached the tree and I could faintly make out the discussion below.

"Huh? That's weird… I could have swore I saw Duo." I could see his green eyes scanning the school grounds suspiciously.

"Duo?" I could see a hint of something in the depths of Quatre's eyes as he looked up at Trowa.

"He just moved here from… well I don't know. He asked me to introduce you to him a while ago and I had forgotten. Well, actually last time he ran off to…" 

Trowa was interrupted by Heero's calm deep voice. "He said he was feeling sick and went to the school nurse." 

What? Did Heero just lie for me? I could feel my eyes widening as my heart pounded loudly in my ear.

"Quatre? Are you alright?" I got out of my daze and looked down again. Trowa's worried voice seemed to cause the blond to snap out of his thoughts and he shook his head smiling sheepishly.

"Aa… I'm fine, just a little hungry." I found myself smiling slightly as I listened to his smooth voice coming from below. They sat down and started to pull out some food which I assumed was their lunches. 

Looks like I was stuck up here, not that I was complaining. It was actually comfortable, lying belly down on one of the thick branches with my hands tucked under my cheek making it easy to peer down. Trowa was now talking about some art project he was doing for the school which Quatre would comment on every once in a while. Just by the little bits of conversation I caught, I could tell that he was very intelligent. Must have been, seeing as how they want him to take over the Winner Corporation. I wonder if Quatre actually wants to do that? What if he isn't happy with the pressure being placed on him? 

I mentally smacked myself when I realized I was worrying again. Closing my eyes, I relaxed under the cool breeze. By how things were going, I wasn't going to get down any time soon so I decided to just rest my eyes for a bit, which actually turned into me falling asleep. I really needed to get a new bed, if it was keeping me up at night. How many times have I fallen asleep at this school now? Too many. Exhaustion was something I didn't need to have dragged on day after day.

Cold… I was awoken to the feeling of a shiver racking through my body. There was a faint warmth to my right and I instinctively moved towards it. Eyes still closed, I buried my head in something soft. Huh? What happened? I opened my eyes a little and took in my surroundings. I was on the ground, under the tree. When did I get out of the tree?

Fear took over and I sat up quickly, looking over my body to make sure I wasn't injured. Puzzled by the lack of scratched or bruises, I finally looked behind me and was startled to see cold blue eyes staring at me. I was apparently sitting in Heero's lap. The realization made me jump up with a yelp and scoot away quickly. Did Heero carry me down the tree?

"What…"

"You fell asleep in the tree." Heero stated.

My eyes widened a little. Falling asleep in trees now, eh? That was a pretty stupid thing to do. "O-oh… did you…"

He once again interrupted me, like he already knew what I was going to ask ahead of time. "I was worried you were going to fall, so I got you down."

Looking up, I noted that it was a good twenty feet from where I had been on the branches. Heero had carried me down that far? 

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." I could feel the blush starting to appear on my cheek, this was really embarrassing. Heero had carried me three times now! All of which I was unconscious!

He was staring at me again. With that same look, like he wanted to ask me something but couldn't bring it into words. But this time, he actually did start to speak. "Do you know why I went to the police station the other day?" He asked, eyes boring into me.

I shuddered a little and began to feel uncomfortable under his heavy gaze. "Why?" I whispered softly, averting my eyes. I looked around trying to avoid his prying dark blues, and noticed that we were alone on the school grounds. Lunch must have been over for awhile now. Shit, now I'm missing classes, yet… Heero had stayed with me this whole time… why?

"He had me redo the… protection, that was on your file when I hacked into it the first time." My eyes shifted back to his unconsciously. "You want to tell me why it took me nearly an hour to hack into your school file?"

So that's why Kemp was acting so weird. They had put some sort of block on my files which Heero was able to get through. No wonder Heero had been looking at me like he was! Probably curious as hell to find out 'why' my files were protected in the first place.

I chewed on my bottom lip nervously and averted my gaze to the ground. "I… cant tell you." I should have lied, I know that, but for some reason I knew he would know if I did. It's in his eyes, they look as though he can see right through me, its scary.

"Hmph." His hand came up to brush through his tangled mop of hair. "That's alright, I already know."

"WHAT!" My head was pounding as I kept replaying what he had just said over and over again hoping that I just imagined it. He already knew…? 

"While they weren't looking, I took a look at your record at the police station." He shrugged his shoulders slightly while turning his gaze towards the school. 

"Then why…"

"I wanted to see if you would lie to me." He said, once again reading my mind. That was really starting to get on my nerves. "But what I 'really' want to know… is why you keep spying on Quatre and running away every time he comes near."

"Eh? You saw me!?" I said a little too loud. I couldn't believe this, had Heero been spying on me like I was on Quatre? How the hell did he manage to find out all that about me?!

He just shrugged again which made me feel a little bit of anger rising inside. "What exactly… did you find out about me?" Maybe I was getting all worked up for nothing and he was talking about something else.

Well, I realized I was wrong when Heero said, "About you father, why you moved here. You being an orphan and the protection program, which is why you have a police officer looking out for you. And I also know that he isn't your guardian as you said, since you are now considered an adult." His expression never changed as he said this. He looked calm and almost bored, like this was no big deal!

My breath started to quicken but not out of nervousness this time, I was angry. Well, more like so pissed off I could kill. He just went and looked into my whole fucking private life! 

"What the hell gave you the right to look into my personal business?!" My once warm violet eyes were now cold and narrowed slightly from my anger. "What the HELL were you thinking, Heero?"

One thing I will never forget is the look on his face as I slammed my fist into his cheek. I don't think I had ever seen so much emotion coming off of him. But at the time, I was too angry to realize the inner struggle he was having with himself. 

As I pulled my fist back hoping to punch him again, his hand came out and grabbed my arm. He held it with a strong grip until I had calmed down a little. That's when I noticed the look on his face, it was almost painful to see. His mask was off, he was showing me… sadness?

"I'm sorry." He whispered, letting go of my hand. It fell limply to my lap, and my anger was strangely forgotten as I looked him over. "I… shouldn't have… I didn't think you would get so mad. I'm sorry." His head bowed slightly, eyes trailing the ground as he waited for me to say something in response. 

I sighed and moved to lean my back against the tree. "Well, you already looked, so there's nothing I can do about it but be pissed at you." His fists clenched slightly as I said this and I got the impression that he was afraid of something. "But, I don't think I can stay mad at you for long." He looked up, a little shocked at seeing my smiling face. But I wasn't going to make it 'that' easy on him. Since he knew so much about me, it was only fair that he returned the favor, right? "Your going to tell me about yourself." My face showed my seriousness and his eyes were a little wider than normal as I said, "Everything, I want to know everything."

He just silently stared at me for a moment, as if pondering a way to get out of this situation. Brown hair moved slightly covering his eyes as the wind blew around us. When his eyes came back into view, his expressionless mask was back and he looked at me with those blue orbs, once again dark, cold. "You're going to regret that."

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WAAHAHAHAA Yes, yes I know… I am the evil bringer of cliffhangers! Sooo sorry!

Thanks again for the reviews! You guys are great! 

Stay tuned for next weeks episode, where we find out about…… not going to tell! Ok so maybe its about Heero… but you already know that, now don't you?

:p


	6. Stage in Question

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Umm… for this chapter… slight angst… and scary stuff? Well anyways, nothing majorly warningful yet!

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage in Question

Heero got up and stretched out his limbs. "Your not going to like what you hear." He said as he turned his back to me and started to walk towards the school. He stopped just before out of my hearing distance and I could see his head turn slightly towards my direction. "Come over to my house tomorrow… and I'll tell you."

He left me there, under the tree, my eyes frozen on his retreating back. I didn't know whether to be surprised, scared, or angry at this turn of events. Heero… I would finally find out about him. And, he knew everything about me, all about my past and about Hall. Why did he go so far as to hack into my files? Just to find out about me? Was it just out of curiosity, or something more?

I heard the distant bell signaling the end of class, or school. Couldn't really tell which, since I had been asleep. I really needed to get out of this 'missing class' habit. Tomorrow I'd probably be called into the office and scolded by Une. Well, that would be interesting, I wonder how far she will go to discipline me. Detention? Lunch duty? Maybe she would let me off the hook altogether.

Picking myself up off the ground, I started the short walk to the school building. People were running around on the grass and coming in hoards out the double doors, which told me that school was most definitely out for the day. Good thing too, I don't know if I would be able to sit through a whole PE class with Heero. 

After collecting my books from my locker, I was about to start walking home when Hilde came bounding up to me. Her huge blue shirt said 'Vote for the Queen' in silver letters.

"Duo! Guess what?" She threw herself in front of me, a gleam of mischief on her face.

"What? Did you talk to that Dorothy girl?" I asked after realizing she was waiting for me to reply. 

She just shook her head and grinned wickedly. "No, no… I had already forgotten that." She started to rummage through her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. I groaned inside as I noticed it was a flyer for the prom coming up in a couple weeks. "I'm running for prom Queen!" She announced while shoving the flyer in my hands.

I just stood there with my mouth gaping like a goldfish, flyer forgotten and slipping from my hand to the floor.

"Gee thanks! No 'Congratulations Hilde' or 'I'll definitely vote for you?'" Her bottom lip stuck out into a pout as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

"Aa… Sorry, sorry, just didn't really think of you as the 'Prom Queen type'." I said in all seriousness.

"Thanks a lot Duo!" She huffed her breath while trying her best to look mad. But I could see the underlying glimmer of cheer in her eyes. She finally gave up her little act and gave me a mischievous smirk. "Ok, so your right… I'm only running cause I found out that 'Blondie Relena' was running. So I had Wufey boy nominate me."

"So your hoping to beat Relena?" I guess I looked a little shocked cause her little pout came back.

"Hoping?" She snorted at me. "I'm going to win!" Her eyes seemed to glaze over happily, and I could tell she was thinking up strategically plans in that small head of hers.

This all came to me as funny for some reason. My shock turned into amusement and I started to laugh slightly clutching the edge of my locker in order to not fall over. "Y-yeah… sure you'll win Hilde."

"Duo!" Coming out of her thoughts, she growled at me. "How could you?" She shoved a finger in front of my face, waging her hand back and forth pointing at me madly. "I can not believe that 'you', of all people, don't have faith in my ability to pull this off! What is it? My hair? My clothes?" She asked, grabbing my shoulders and trying to shake me out of my giggling fit.

"W-well… It… it could be the clothes." I said between laughs. The look on her face made me cave in and fall to the floor, my face now red from trying to suppress my laughs. 

"Duo!… Fine! I'll prove you wrong… If I win the election then you are going to have to be my slave for a week, do you hear?" My laughter stopped and I looked up from the floor to see her smirking face from above. "What? Still think I'm not gonna win?"

"Hell no! But what do I get if you lose?" This was getting interesting, I was never one to turn down a bet.

Hilde put her hand on her chin, eyes squinted slightly in thought. "Well… I could always be your slave for a week." She suggested.

"Nah, I have no use for a slave." Smirking, I crawled up off the floor. "If I win the bet…" My smile grew as I thought of the perfect punishment. "You have to dress in all pink for a week. That means shoes and nail polish too." 

Her eyes got all big and I could swear her face turned a couple shades paler. "Y-you mean… you expect me to dress like RELENA? For a whole WEEK?"

"What's the matter Hilde babe? Don't think your gonna win?" A look of determination came over her as I mocked her and she put her hands on her hips, smiling at me prettily.

"I will win!" 

She rushed away leaving me standing in front of my locker. As she turned the corner and was no longer in view I burst out into another fit of laughter. I was gonna have fun with this, and I was going to make sure Hilde was definitely not going to be Prom Queen. Now, if only I could find where Relena had gone off to. After all, the most assured way for Hilde to lose is to make sure her opponent wins! I'd just have to give little miss pink some advice to ensure that I get to see Hilde's embarrassed state.. There was no way I would be her slave for a week! That would be downright torture. You might as well shove me off to work in a sweat shop!

On my walk home, I once again found myself feeling uneasy. Looking around, I noticed that there was a definite lack of people on the streets than normal. Must be because it was a Monday, and all they wanted to do was go home from their laborious jobs and sleep. Like me. Even after my little nap in the tree, I was feeling exhausted. My body must have been working too hard trying to get rid of my sickness. 

The uneasy feeling only grew as I turned down the street where my apartment was. My pace picked up and I started to hum softly to myself in hopes of getting my mind off my fears. As I came to the entrance of my apartment complex, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Anyone would have paid no mind to the litter that was sitting right in front of the door. They would have simply thought a bum had been hanging around smoking and begging for change. But as I stared at the green box, empty and crushed slightly, my mind only supplied one thought. Hall.

It's the little things, that you always seem to remember. The things that are pointless and probably waste space inside our brains, and for the life of us we can not figure out why we remember such odd things. I could study a science book for hours and forget it all in a week, but remember a stupid slogan on television for years. The green cigarette case sitting there in front of me, was one of those small things yet sent chills down my spine. 

Hall, those were what he smoked. I could remember one incident, an incident I could not forget, though so pointless to remember. I was sitting on the front porch, and had just gotten done crying my eyes out after Hall had yelled at me. Luckily he wasn't drunk at the time and I didn't have to get my face smashed in. Hall had come out of the house surprisingly quiet. I was always afraid of him, and that's why I had tensed up when he sat down next to me. I think he had noticed cause he grunted something that sounded like 'relax'. Pulling out his pack of cigarettes he started to smoke right next to me. I wanted to gag because of the awful smell, but was too worried he would yell at me for being a wimp. That was the only time I actually saw the box, green and worn, like it had been sitting in his pocket and forgotten about. 

After all these years, that's one of the things I can clearly remember. Maybe it was because Hall had actually sat down next to me without yelling, like a father would a son.

Standing in front of the apartment complex, I stared wide eyed at the green cigarette box I hadn't seen in so long. I closed my eyes taking deep breaths trying to remind myself that 'Hall isn't here' and 'I am perfectly safe.' I reached for the door and pulled it open not looking back to the street. Perhaps I was afraid that if I did turn around I would see Hall sitting on the steps smoking a cigarette like old times. 

I think I got through the building to my door faster than I had ever before. The adrenaline rushing in me from my scare was making my arms shake slightly. Fumbling with the keys, I opened the door slowly peering into the lightly lit room. 

Nothing, no one was there. Sighing in relief, I finally walked in, cursing myself for being so paranoid. After grabbing a quick snack to eat I made my way to the bathroom in order to take a long, hot shower. Hopefully it would get rid of some of the tension in my muscles.

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As I walked out the steps the next morning making my way to school, I noticed that the green box was still sitting on the steps. Growling, I threw it into the trash down the street. I really did not want to be reminded of Hall today. Today was the day I would go over to Heero's. Today, I would find out what his 'big secret' that everyone but me knows about!

I know I should have been excited or at least a little bit happy, but for some reason I was dreading going, after what Heero had said. Was his story really 'that' bad?

The school day went by in a daze, all I could think about was Heero. He hadn't so much as looked at me the whole day. Maybe he was mad, because I was forcing him to talk about himself. The major turn around in his behavior towards me was really starting to hurt. I don't know when it was I started to think of him this much. But whatever the feelings were inside myself, they were not happy at Heero's extra cold behavior.

During lunch I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even go search for Quatre. Come to think of it, I think he may have passed me in the hall once. Instead of stalking the blond boy, I found myself mopping around feeling sorry for myself just because Mr. Stone Face was ignoring me! What a day! 

In PE, I found myself stealing glances at Heero and more than once was yelled at for not paying attention. One time I actually got hit in the head by a tennis ball because I was so absorbed in watching his perfect movements. God, I was pathetic.

As the bell rang to dismiss us from class, I nearly tore out of the locker room. Heero had finished changing before me and I was afraid he was planning on changing his mind and leaving without me. Running down the hallway, I made my was to my locker to quickly get my books. Not knowing where else I would find him, I thought I would maybe go by the bus. Well, before I even stepped foot out of the school I saw Heero standing by a tree, eyes pinned on me. 

The minute I looked into those dark blue eyes I felt a pull at my heart. He was looking at me, for the first time this whole torturous day. Taking a deep breath, I slowly made my way over to him, feet stumbling slightly on the cracks in the side walk. He didn't say anything as I stood before him, just motioned silently for me to follow him. And I did.

We walked a couple blocks down the street. The silence was killing me, but I didn't really expect him to start off a conversation. So it would probably be up to me. He stopped suddenly at a bus stop and sat on an old metal bench. The paint was peeling off which surprised me since this part of the town was fairly newer than the rest. I wondered if this used to be an old farming town before it became a city. A lot of big cities had started out that way. Once the ground was no longer fertile, they usually were forced to change, or move.

Sitting down beside him, I bit my bottom lip nervously, trying to think of something to break the uncomfortable silence. "Ah… W-where…"

"The school bus doesn't go to my house, so we have to take the city bus." His cold voice sent chills down my spine. I think he was a little angry… damn.

"Aa." Looking down at the ground I noticed that Heero didn't have any books or a back pack with him. "How come you don't have…"

"I finish my homework in school, usually." He stated simply.

"Will you STOP doing that!?" I jumped up crossing my arms over my chest. His attitude towards me was starting to get on my nerves. I don't know why I had been feeling guilty before! He was the one who had looked into 'my' file after all.

"Doing what?" He asked, eyebrows raised in question.

"The… reading my mind thing!" I huffed, sitting back down and turning away in order to not have to look at him. I was pouting, I know, but I didn't care. He had ruined my whole day with his little 'ignore Duo' act.

I could hear a faint 'tu' sound coming from him and I wondered if he was getting a kick out of pissing me off. Glancing over at him beneath my long chestnut bangs, I could see a slight smirk on his face. Surprised, I forgot about the whole 'I'm pissed and will ignore you' thing and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You were doing that on purpose!" I yelled, pointing at him accusingly. "First you ignore me all day and make me start to feel a little bad about yesterday, then you make a game out of pissing me off!" 

"I wasn't trying to make you mad." He said, the smirk was now gone, showing no trace of ever being there in the first place. "And I wasn't ignoring you." 

"Oh, yeah sure." My voice had a sarcastic tone to it which made Heero glare at me. We just sort of sat there staring at each other for a while before Heero finally sighed and looked away.

"I… didn't mean to ignore." His voice had that tone to it, the same tone as when he apologize to me the other day for looking into my files. "Just…" Bending over slightly he pulled a hand though his messy hair. He seemed to do that a lot when he was nervous. Yeah, it wouldn't seem like he was nervous to any normal person, but I've watched him enough to figure out his little gestures show more of how he's feeling then his facial expression. I watched him for a while longer as he struggled to find words to say. And do you know what I did? I actually started to feel sorry for him! 

The bus rounding the corner and started to make its way towards us. I sighed, finally deciding that I wouldn't make things harder on Heero by being difficult. "Its alright, you don't need to explain… The bus is coming, how much does it cost to ride?" 

He looked a little relieved at my change in topic. Heero was definitely not one for words and I was beginning to get an idea of what his early childhood must have been like. Maybe he didn't have many friends, though I don't see why… he was attractive and should have at least had a few 'girl' friends, if anything.

The bus ride was pretty short and the next thing I knew, we were walking along the side walk past huge mansions. The funny thing was that all of them were either white or beige, that is, all except Heero's house. After passing a house with a hideous pink mailbox, Heero stopped walking. We stood outside of the black gate looking in at a huge gray structure. I couldn't really call it a house, it just didn't have the 'homely' feel to it. 

It was made out of a smooth gray stone and if I would have passed it some other time, I would have thought it might be a police station or something. Bars covered most of the curtain less windows and there were vines growing along the walls in random patterns. Bushes were overgrowing and looked like they hadn't been trimmed in years. The sidewalk was old and cracking which made me wonder how old exactly was the house? The over grown trees on the sides of the big yard seemed to hide the house from outside eyes. Which would explain why the neighbors let it stay here. That and the owners of this house were most likely rich and scared away all the complaints with large bills. 

I followed Heero down the path and up to the big black door. It had one of those door knockers that had eyes and the knocking ring through its nose. It looked to me like a dragon, but it was probably a gargoyle or something. I would have asked Heero if I was not so nervous about actually entering the two story 'creepy' house. 

Opening the door provided a loud squeak and I moved closer to Heero slightly as we made our way through it. The first thing I noticed as we came in, was the colors, all dark shades. The dark gray marble floor was polished and shiny making me realize that their was probably servants living here as well. 

Heero started walking forward and I stuck right behind him taking in the contents of the long hall we were in. Small tables with flowerless vases were positioned between the doors that ran along either side of the hall walls. Not one door was open, all closed. Heero just walked straight, going down further into the house. 

The lights seemed to fade slowly as we walked onward. Pictures were posted on some parts of the wall, none of people though. Some were of machines, others of scenery. 

The silence was starting to bug me, for the only sound in the long hall was the 'clank' of our shoes on the hard floor. Heero walked to the end of the hall where you could go either right or left, he went right and I looked behind me to try and get a look at what was down the other hall. The lights were a little too dark though and all I could make out was a door with some designs painted on it. 

Chills were running down my spine as we finally stopped in front of a random door. This house was really starting to creep me out. If I were to come here on my own, I would have thought it was a haunted house. The cold air, and seemingly lack of life would have 'anyone' freaked out.

Heero swung the door open softly and motioned for me to follow him down the stairs. I was hesitant at first, seeing as it seemed to get even darker and the walls were close together. This would not be a good place for my claustrophobia to kick in.

He just raised an eyebrow at me in amusement as if asking 'What? Are you scared?' Pulling myself together I slowly started after him. As I came to the bottom and my foot came off the last step, relief rushed over me and I sighed happily. He just looked at me weird again making my irritation towards him grow. 

"Sorry." I mumbled. "I don't do well in closed spaces."

Heero stood there for a while as if trying to figure something out, then nodded and walked towards the couch. We were now in a big windowless room, which was thankfully not so dark as I had thought it would be. There was a couch on the far wall where Heero was sitting and about five computers spread out on different desks throughout the room. A small bed was placed by the wall parallel to me, next to another door which might have been a bathroom.

"Is… Is this your room?" I asked while slowly taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

"Aa."

Feeling finally safe from the creepiness of the house I decided to start questioning him a little. "What's with this place?"

No emotion escaped his face as he answered me. "This house is in mourning."

"Huh?"

He sighed and slumped in his seat as if knowing that he was going to have to explain a little more than that in order for me to actually get what the hell he was talking about. "The household is mourning the deaths of my parents." I could feel my eyes widen a little at this.

"When did they die?" I asked, still not over my shock.

"Five years ago."

"Huh?" Why the hell would someone be mourning a death for five years?! Something strange was going on in this house and I wasn't all that sure I would want to know. I was beginning to agree with Heero when he told me I would regret it. Though my damn curiosity was going to drag me in further. "Why would they be mourning for five years?"

His eyes turned cold and I could see that he was no longer looking at me, but at some distant memory. "Why indeed…" Was the only answer I got. He stayed silent for a little while and then looked at his watch, face growing a little agitated. "We have to go get our dinner."

"Eh?" I looked at my watch seeing that it was still early. "Its only four."

"Aa… I don't really want to explain now, lets just go, otherwise there wont be anything left." He stood up and I followed him back up the stairs. We ended up coming back to the door with the weird designs on it, which I now recognized to be little pictures of coffee cups. Weird.

The door opened to reveal a bright room that was most definitely for dinning. A woman wearing a plain, black dress was setting plates and silverware down. She didn't even look up when we walked past her to another door on the far side of the room, leading into a big kitchen. Cooks were hustling about every which way and I could here the servants listing off different foods which were going to be cooked for the nights dinner. It was a little creepy walking through the mass of people and realizing that none of them were even looking at me, or acknowledging my or Heero's presence. 

We came to the end of the kitchen where a long wooden table was set up with food arranged buffet style. Servants were loading up their plates and eating amazingly quick. One man glanced at me with a raised eyebrow before going back to his eating. 

Heero directed me to take a plate and started putting food on his own. I hesitated at first, not really knowing what to take. Once I had picked out some food, which wasn't much since my stomach was a knot of nerves, we set out, back to Heero's room. 

Once we were back in the safety of his computer filled room, I collapsed onto the couch with my food carefully balanced in one hand. "How can you stand living here? Barely anyone would even look at us!"

Ignoring my little rant, Heero started to eat his meal, which consisted on unbuttered bread, a slice of unseasoned meat and a couple vegetables. I looked down at my choice of food, some weird looking pasta and a slice of ham. How I came to grab that weird combination, I don't really know. Once he had finished eating, he set down the plate on a near by desk before coming over to sit across from me.

"They aren't suppose to talk to me." 

My eyebrows raised a little in confusion. "What do you mean? Why?!"

"The relatives forbid them to. If they are caught talking to me they will be fired." I couldn't believe the calmness he was showing as he said this. The confusion I was feeling tripled and I was left with my mouth hanging open in disbelief. At seeing my state, Heero took a deep breath as if preparing for the inevitable explanation.

"I…" He started, looking down to the ground in thought. He couldn't seem to get the words out and ended up standing with a long sigh. "I guess it'd be easier to show you." He motioned for me to follow him as he walked over to the door which I had thought was a bathroom earlier. As he opened it, I realized that it was another stairwell, this one leading up like the other, but was pitch black because of the spiral it seemed to make. 

I stood frozen at the thought of actually having to climb up that dark, small staircase. Heero, seeing my distress, took my hand is his. I flushed slightly when my skin met his. He was warm. I know I shouldn't have been surprised, but I guess I had always seen the cold side of him and assumed that he wouldn't be warm like normal people.

"Close your eyes." He said while leading me to the bottom step. I was a little hesitant at first but after seeing the look of reassurance on his face, I obeyed. "Your at the first step." He directed me and I climbed up onto the stairs. 

Slowly, we made our way up, left hand sliding along the wall while Heero led me with the right. I don't know if it was because Heero was holding my hand or because my eyes were closed, but the fear was slowly leaving me as we walked up the steep steps. 

"Your at the last step." I heard him whisper. I opened my eyes and found that we were on a sort of balcony. It was more like a hallway with one wall, to the right and a door at the far end. To the left stood the railing overlooking the dinning room below. 

"Where are we?" I asked. Heero held up a finger to his lips silencing me while leaning closer.

"Talk quietly." He whispered in my ear. The hot breath sent chills down my spine and made me realize that he still had his warm hand clutched in mine. He led me to the railing where I could see the already set up dinning table. We crouched down slightly, hidden from anyone who was to peer up. "Dinner is going to start soon." He said while looking at his watch, though I don't know how he could read it in the dark shadows of the balcony. 

For some reason, I was beginning to get a thrill from all this sneaking around. I smiled a little to myself, I had never seen this side of Heero, the sneaky yet thoughtful boy who would hold my hand to make me feel comfortable. Well, he had probably forgotten that he was still holding my hand. I wasn't planning on reminding him though, no, no. I liked the feel of his hand pressed in mine.

A door opened downstairs and I could see a woman with gray hair that was almost the same color as the stone outside. Her long black dress was dragging slightly on the marble floor as she walked in and sat at the head of the table. After she was seated, two others entered and sat themselves on either side of the her.

To the right, sat a woman with long strawberry blond hair. Her pointed chin was held high as she greeted the old lady with a quick nod. The dark blue dress seemed to look a little awkward on her and I wondered if it was because it was a little to small for her slightly big frame.

To the left, sat a man with the same color hair as the woman's, but his eyes were darker and seemed to be his most prominent feature. He was thin and looked frail, just the opposite of the girl. 

"See the old bag at the head?" Heero asked quietly. I could see the anger starting to swirl in the depths of his eyes. "That's my Aunt."

My eyes widened slightly as I watched the woman claimed to be his 'Aunt'. She sat too stiffly on the chair, cold eyes looking disgustedly at a servant girl pouring wine on the table. But what really shocked me was her voice, thin and sharp. With a demanding air that would have anyone shaking from fright. 

"Hurry up, girl! We don't have all day." The poor girl jumped slightly and walked quickly away to the kitchen. At her exit, other servants came in with the food trays, setting them around the decorated table. All that commotion in the kitchen earlier for this? I had seen about four cooks, and they were only cooking for these three people? 

Heero nudged me slightly and pulled back a little from the railing before speaking. "The other two are her children, my cousins. Just be glad you'll never have to meet them." 

Their dinner started and I felt a little sick watching them eat, in silence, except for the occasional clink of a fork hitting the china. I was beginning to see a little of why Heero acted like he did, but there was still so much more that I wanted to know. Like why he wasn't included in the meal, and why everyone ignored him. He said it would be easier to show me, yet all I have seen is a couple stuck up relatives ordering everyone to ignore Heero.

Wait a minute… Heero had said that his parents were dead. Maybe Heero had been pushed into his Aunts care and that's why she was so cold towards him, because she didn't want to waste money taking care of him. But that still didn't explain why Heero had said the house was still mourning the death of his parents even after five years.

What was going on here? 

TBC

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Gah! … There's nothing really to say.

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	7. Stage Heero

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Hmm… wicked Witches, evil people that should die, and an emotional Heero! Beware!

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Heero

We watched Heero's relatives dine for a little while longer before making our way back down to Heero's room. I have to admit, I was really taken aback when seeing the coldness of the people that Heero was living with, and had been for five years.

"Have you figured anything out yet." He asked, as we once again sat on the couch. He had let go of my hand when we stepped back into the room and I couldn't help but noticed the coolness left behind. 

"A… little bit, but… I still want you to explain it to me. I don't understand why someone would act like that towards you, its too…" My voice trailed off and I looked to the ground when I realized that no words could really describe what I had seen.

"My mother and father didn't die of… natural causes." He said, placing a hand to his temple, rubbing small circles as if he had a headache. "They were murdered."

I could feel my heart start to beat faster as I listened to him calmly telling me that his parents were murdered like he was talking about weather. How could he be this strong? To not show how he's feeling inside, if in fact he was feeling anything at all.

He seemed to be able to read the expression on my face and he smirked slightly. "It's not as if I don't care that they died, I just never really knew them." Walking over to one of the desks, he pulled out a book from the top drawer. "Here." 

I took the book from his hands a little hesitantly. As the first page came into view, I noticed it was a scrap book. A newspaper article was pasted on the page, with a picture of a little boy who looked no older than three. Big letters on the top spelled out 'kidnapping.' 

"When I was almost four, I was taken from my parents. I never really considered it kidnapping, because I went on my own free will. But what child wouldn't when offered toys and candy." He smirked slightly at my stunned expression, as if finding it amusing. "My grandfather, was the one who took me, he had a grudge against my parents, always talking about how they were 'greedy and distrustful.' I grew up hating them, only because I was told to by my grandfather." Heero seemed to be lost in thought again and it was a couple minutes before he spoke. 

"I lived with him for about nine years, locked in his house most of the time. I rarely got to go out, I never asked why though. Jay… I believed everything he told me... Later I found out that he only wanted to use me." Leaning forward, Heero rested his head in his hands. "One day, when I was twelve, he told me to go and kill my parents." 

I couldn't hold the shock that welled through me and I gasped slightly at his confession. The atmosphere in the room was slowly turning bad and my body was starting to shake in fear or maybe anticipation for what he was going to say next.

"He just dropped me off one day at my parents house, this house, saying 'go kill your parents or I wont take you back.' He handed me a pistol and drove away, leaving me at their doorstep. I… picked the lock on the front door, and walked in… fully intending to kill them." He paused once again, head still down in his hands. His left foot swayed back and forth in nervousness as he collected his thoughts. 

"Y-you didn't…" I started to say, but it was too hard to get my voice to work after hearing his speech. 

He looked up slightly, finally meeting my violet eyes in his. "No. I failed, I couldn't kill them… They were eating dinner… when I had come in. They looked… happy, an emotion that I had rarely seen back then. I guess I was scared…" Heero's body was starting to shake as he continued. "I ran away, back to Jay… He was… so mad… went and killed them… couldn't stop… watched him kill..." 

I watched in alarm as Heero's eyes widened and he started to tremble. He looked… scared, like he was reliving his past inside his mind. 

"Heero!" Jumping up, I ran to his side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, you don't have to continue." I was trying to give him a way out, so that he wouldn't have to talk anymore. Guilt was playing through my mind as I watched him in this state. 

I had forced him to tell me. I had forced him to reopen the wounds of his past. God, I was such a jerk!

Taking a couple deep breaths, he seemed to calm down enough to speak again. His expressionless face was now before me again, but I could tell that he was still hurting inside. "My parents died by his hands, so he was sent to jail for life. They didn't know what to do with me, so they gave me to my Aunt. After living with her for a week, I had found out that she hated me, hated me enough to treat me like this. She believes that it was my fault my father died." 

I felt enraged towards that woman, and towards this 'Jay' guy. Heero had been treated cruelly his whole life, used by his own grandfather, ignored by his relatives. The suffering he must have gone through…

"My parents, had a fortune. In their will they gave the money to me, even though I had been missing. My Aunt took it that they just forgot to change the will, and the money was suppose to be hers. Another grudge against me, and that's why she ignores me…. This house, and all the money, is mine, yet I cant get to it until I turn eighteen. That's when she plans to sue me for all of the estate."

"Eh? Can she do that?" I knew what the answer was going to be, but I still wanted it to be wrong. If Heero were to lose all of his money… where would he go when he turned eighteen and got kicked out of the house? He'd have no support… I guess it's similar to being an orphan. 

When someone turns eighteen, the orphanage can no longer get government support to pay for the child. They are given a job, maybe a place to stay, and abandoned. Life is hard enough as it is, but to not have a family to come back to if things turned bad, was a pretty horrible thought. I knew that was what would happen to me, when I had turned eighteen. But it never really seemed as bad as now, when I see Heero going through a similar situation. 

"Do you know why she has been mourning for all these years?" He asked, looking at me with sad eyes that made me want to just jump up and hug him. Of course, I would be too afraid he would punch me in the gut, or get freaked out at the physical contact.

"Why?" I thought about it for a while, but still couldn't figure out an answer. Mourning for that long was just ridiculous. It made me wonder just how much money his Aunt had wasted over the years. She didn't seem like she worked, and there were a ton of servants that were getting paid full time wages… damn, just how much money was there in Heero's little inheritance?

"One time, when I was forced to clean the attic upstairs, I stumbled upon some of my fathers old letters. They were addressed to my Aunt," His face twisted slightly in disgust. "I found out that he was having an affair with her, behind my mothers back."

This was pretty shocking, not the part where his father had an affair… no, the part where someone would ever want to have an affair with that freak of a woman. "What? That ugly old lady?"

"She didn't always look like that. She actually used to be attractive in her younger days, but ever since my father died, she changed… At first she mourned solely because she was sad he was gone… But it dragged on, and I became a little suspicious." His tone was low and cold, I could tell whatever he was trying to say was going to be bad.

"About a year ago, I had overheard her talking to her daughter. She seems to think she can easily win over my inheritance if the judge feels sorry for her. So… it was all an act, mourning for five years only for money. I think she plans on using some of the maids to testify against me, saying how I never even cared for my parents, or their deaths." 

I couldn't remember a time where I felt more disgusted than I did then, listening to his story. I think I would have gone outside and thrown up if I could have remembered the way out. The cruelty his whole family had shown him was upsetting. Yet he sits here, and is able to tell me all of it without anger, with out showing his hate towards the people who had hurt him. Heero was strong, and it amazed me. 

I guess I must have zoned out for awhile, or gone into shock, because the next thing I know, Heero's waving a hand in front of my face yelling my name. I shook my head and came back to reality to see his worried face only a foot in front of mine. "S-sorry." I could feel my cheeks burning slightly in embarrassment and I really hoped it was too dark for him to notice.

He pulled back, sitting once again on the chair across from me and sighed. "You should start heading back home, your cop friend might be worrying where you are." 

Kemp, yeah he would most likely be worrying about me. That thought was a little comforting, knowing that I had someone that cared about me. Heero, however, would not be missed if he was gone. They probably wouldn't even know if he left and never came back, and wouldn't care as long as they had his money. How could people like that exists in the world? I could never figure it out. Was it their childhood that warped them to become so… evil? Or was it incidences like death, that made them so cruel? Heero's Aunt seemed to have gone bad after his fathers death, and she seemed to take the blame on Heero, even though he wasn't the one who took the final blow. Doesn't she know he had been tortured enough?

Heero had talked a lot today, I don't think I will ever hear him say so much in a single sitting again. I smiled a little when Heero turned his back to walk towards the door. I was feeling a little better because of my thoughts. I felt special, and my stomach was doing a little butterfly dance thinking of how nice Heero had acted towards me. Sure, he was cold for the beginning of the day, but he really made it up in the long run.

"Do the others know about this? Does Hilde know?" I asked. I was a little curious seeing as how they never seemed to act like the situation was 'that' bad. If they knew everything that I did, I'm sure they would be trying to help Heero a little. As for me, I was already thinking up ways to torture the 'evil wicked Aunt of the west wing.' Now only if she wore a pointed hat, then she would definitely fill the witch category.

"It was in the news, five years ago. They only know what's been told in the media." 

"Then… why did you tell me all of this?" Sure, I was thrilled that he had shared so much, but he could have just told me the media's story and not had to have suffered through talking about it.

"You asked." It was a simple answer yet it was pretty amusing to me.

"Hmmm? So if I asked you to walk me home, you would?" It would probably be getting dark soon, and I don't know if my nerves could take any more frights today.

He smirked slightly, seeing my pleading expression. "I've got nothing better to do."

"Yay!" Jumping up from the couch I hurried quickly to the door. "Come on, I want to get out of this place, it gives me the creeps." I nearly bit my tongue off after I said that. "Ah! I didn't mean… well, your room doesn't give me the creeps… just the…" 

"It's alright, I'm used to it." He was still smirking slightly, amused by my flustered state and I couldn't help but feel warm inside. 

We made our way out of the house and started the walk to the bus station. I didn't really think that Heero would actually walk me 'all' the way to my apartment, but to my surprise he hopped on the bus right along with me and we sat down for the ten minute ride. 

He was quiet again, as if thinking about something. I had assumed it was about our little discussion about his past, but to my surprise, he was actually thinking more along the lines of 'my' problems. 

"Your father… he doesn't know you're here?" He asked, looking out the window as cars whizzed by on the opposite side of the road. I've always liked riding on buses at night, when the rest of the world is dark and you are in a moving bubble of light. It kinda reminds me of the subway, where you cant see out the dark windows because your in a tunnel of darkness.

"Hmm? I thought you read my file?" 

"Ah… only scanned over the important details." He said, looking up at me slightly, eyes barely visible through his thick bangs.

"Aa… well… there isn't really any way he would be able to find me. It would be hard. I'm sure there is 'some' way." I stammered, all of a sudden finding the floor to be really interesting. I wondered what he would think of me if I told him how paranoid I had been lately. Or how scared I had become walking home alone. All because of Hall, all because he is supposedly after me. 

Maybe they were wrong about the whole situation. For all we know, Hall could be thousands of miles away, laughing at the mess I was put in all because of him. Well, like they say, better safe then sorry. All though, I wasn't feeling all that safe, even after being put into the so called protection program. Kemp hadn't said a word to me about Hall and I wondered if they were even close to finding him. 

Heero's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Will you tell me… why he's after you?" I could tell that he was having a hard time asking me this by the way his voice seemed to be a little softer than usual. Heero rarely asked questions, so I knew this was something he really wanted to know about.

"Aa… Since you told me… about you, its only fair that I give you my whole story, ne?" I cocked my head to the side as I thought of how to explain myself without accidentally giving away something about Quatre.

Heero listened to me patiently as I told him my past. He seemed a little stunned at some of the things I brought up, like me being beaten as a child. Though he didn't comment on anything, just let me ramble away. For some reason, I ended up telling him stories of my stay at the orphanage, like the time I stole the fathers cross in order to clean my nails with the pointed edge. He kinda looked at me weird as if thinking, 'glad I didn't know Duo as a child.'

Before I knew it, we were walking down my street, bus long gone and probably half way through the city by now. The street lights were now on and it was almost dark, shadows slowly disappearing as the suns last rays faded away.

"There was this one kid, Tommy? I think that was it… yeah, yeah Tommy! Anyways, he was always crying and stuff, so one day I took him out by the river that was about a couple blocks from the orphanage. We all wanted to go swimming, but he kept crying… cause we weren't really allowed to and he was scared." I started, waving my hands around animatedly. Heero just looked at me with amusement in the depths of his eyes. He didn't smirk, or smile, just listened as if he knew it would make me happy. And it did, I was back living in the past, the good past at least. I didn't even look around the streets once with fright of seeing Hall. Maybe it was because I had someone with me, and Heero of all people!

I was about to tell him about how we ended up picking up Tommy and throwing him in the river, when we came to the outside steps of my apartment. My heart stopped. Right on the step, exactly as it had been this morning, was the green cigarette box. 

Frozen from shock and fear, I just stared wide eyed at the empty package. 

Hall… it couldn't be… could it? At that thought, I swung my head around and searched the street with my eyes.

Nothing.

"Duo?" Heero had his hand resting on my shoulder and was trying to get me to look at him. "Are you alright?" The tone of his voice sounded a little like worry, but you couldn't really tell with Heero, now could you?

I took a deep breath to calm myself before attempting to answer him. "C-can you…" The words couldn't get out of my mouth, perhaps I was a little afraid to ask Heero to come upstairs with me and risk him thinking I was a wimp.

Heero just nodded slightly like he could read my mind again. This time, however, I was thankful when he answered my unvoiced question. "I'll walk up to your apartment with you." He stated, holding the door open and tilting his head slightly to get me moving. 

My limbs were starting to shake again, like the last time I had come home to my empty apartment. I kept taking deep breaths in hopes that I would calm myself and not look like a total freak in front of Heero. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to me though, which was a relief. He seemed to always understand me, its like he knew what I was feeling and would do things to make me more comfortable. He'd been doing that a lot today, I realized. 

This quiet, cold boy, seemed to know a lot about others emotions. And yet, he doesn't show any for himself.

My wooden front door came into view and I sighed in relief as I noted that it was normal. I guess I had been thinking it would be broken and my apartment thrashed. Heh, me and my big paranoid imagination.

Heero followed me in as I opened the door. Everything was the same, nothing freaky. I was over reacting again, the cigarette box could have just been dropped by the same person as yesterdays. 

Heero didn't say anything as he went and checked my bedroom and bathroom out. This made me feel at ease somewhat and I was really glad I had asked him to walk me home. If I would have come back to the apartment to see that box on the steps, and no Heero to snap me out of my fears, I would probably still be standing out there staring like a big idiot. 

My heart sank slightly as Heero stood before me, already done checking the house. He would be leaving, leaving me alone in this apartment that I had come to hate. I waited for the words telling me that he would see me tomorrow, or saying good night, but… they never came.

"Mind if I watch TV for a little while?" Heero didn't wait for an answer as he jumped over the back of the couch while grabbing the remote. I could feel my eyes widening slightly, but soon to disappear as a big goofy smile spread across my face. 

He definitely was on the top of my favorite persons list right now!

Sitting down next to him, I grabbed the remote from his hand and turned to the old AMC movie channel. The old movies always made me laugh, with their bad acting and weird clothes. Heero's eyebrow raised slightly as an old western started to play. I wondered if he ever got to watch television. There wasn't one in his room, but I suppose he could have always watched from his computer. 

Thirty minutes into the movie, my eyes were starting to droop and my head was getting annoyingly heavy. I glanced at Heero and chuckled through one of my yawns. I hadn't expected to see him fast asleep. He was curled up in a little ball at the end of the sofa. shoes still on, shirt slightly pulled up a little, exposing his smooth stomach. He looked so peaceful… and damn hot when sleeping. I found myself staring at his lips, partly open as he breathed softly. 

My face was starting to flush slightly at the sight before me, and I had to drag my eyes away in order to calm my raging hormones. I stretched out my stiff muscles and made my way to the bedroom. The bed didn't really look all the appealing to me anymore. My mind started to drift as I stared at the unmade bed, imagining how Heero would look lying on my bed. 

Gah! Stupid, stupid! Got to stop thinking bad thoughts! 

Well, I tried to stop thinking about him. But as I pulled off the only blanket I had and set out to put it on Heero, I was greeted with a sight that made my stomach tingle in excitement. He was laying on his back, stretched out like a cat with his stomach now showing skin up to his cute little belly button. 

I know, I was drooling. But who wouldn't when a hot guy was laying asleep in your living room looking 'oh so yummy'?

No, no, no… must… stop thinking about… Heero like that! He is only… a friend. 

A friend eh? Does he even consider me as one? I mean, he never actually ran up to me and told me he liked me enough to actually want to be my friend. His whole attitude, makes it hard to tell what he likes, dislikes. Ok, so it isn't that hard to tell what he 'dis' likes. He usually glares at everything he seems to hate with a passion. Sure, he's glared at me my share of times, but I never thought that he would actually 'hate' me. I really wish I knew what he felt about me, his behavior towards me yesterday was enough to make me feel like he did care for me… but… it could be that he was only acting like that, because I had forced him into that situation… and he felt obligated to treat me nicely.

Pulling the covers onto the sleeping boy, I was left blanket less and standing above him. I didn't mind though, I had slept outside in the cold plenty of times when I would run away from the orphanage. Part of the reason I was never adopted, they like to put things like that on my record. No one wanted a kid who was gonna split right when things got a little bad. 

I had always wondered why they didn't just delete the things on my file, so someone would adopt me. They could probably get away with it easy, but them being church people was most likely the problem. Not that they seemed to mind me. The sister, even after all her yelling and scolding me… seemed to love me. I could tell by how she would hug me every night, and how she worried when I came home a little too late.

I smiled, thinking of them at the church, it made feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I laid myself down on the floor, a couple feet away from Heero, thinking of Father Maxwell and Sister Helen before falling into a deep slumber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you ever wake up to find your face all funny looking with indents in it? Well, I knew if I had looked into a mirror I would probably see a side full of creases from where the carpet had met my face. I awoke to the smell of bacon, and was really surprised to see Heero standing over my stove when I opened my eyes. The blanket I had put on him was now draped carefully over me, and I was thankful considering how cold it always was in the morning. As I sat up stretching slightly, Heero turned to greet me with a quick nod. 

Heh… he was back to his usual self I see. 

Turns out he was making bacon and eggs… how he got the eggs was a good question! I didn't ask though, I was too busy stuffing my face. "Mmm… how come you know how to cook?" I asked between mouthfuls. 

"Jay, he used to make me cook for him." Heero said, never taking his eyes off his plate. I wondered if he was bothered by something. He had barely said anything all morning and I was beginning to think I had done something wrong.

After finishing the meal, I went to get dressed for school. Heero was still in yesterday's clothes which made me wonder if he would be able to fit in anything of mine…

"Oy… Heero." I called from in the bedroom. "Come here and see if this'll fit ya!" He walked in to see me holding up a pair of baggy blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

"I'm not wearing that." 

"Aw, come one, you cant possibly think to wear those 'again'!" I smirked slightly before adding, "Besides, you smell." That wasn't exactly a lie, he didn't smell bad, no, he smelled really good actually. He kinda snorted something under his breath before snatching the clothes from my hand and walking to the bathroom. "You can take a shower if you want." I yelled after him. I could hear him snarl angrily from behind the closed door, I guess he thought I was telling him he stunk again. Oh well.

Surprisingly, he did take a shower. And I was left sitting on my bed, staring at the closed door imagining Heero on the other side. Gah! I was doing it again. 

Must… not… think of Heero with water running down his naked body… must stop.

I slapped my hand over my forehead and fell back onto my soft bed. This was going to be a lo~ong day.

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Wooo… That was a hard chapter to write, sigh.


	8. Stage Fright

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: SELF INJURY, Angst, Lil Heero torture, emotional Heero torture. Poor, poor Heero! 

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Fright

As we set out for school, all cleaned up and Heero now smelled like my citrus shampoo, I noticed that he was doing 'it' again! The whole 'I will look at you weird until you ask me why I am looking at you' thing. Heh, pretty long description for one look right? 

Thankfully, as we walked down the steps, the cigarette box was gone. Someone must have thrown it away when leaving for work. Thank you thank you. I didn't need to be paranoid so early in this lovely morning! Why was it so lovely you ask? Why… because Heero was walking with me to school! What could be better? 

About halfway to the Lowe High school I gave up and said, "Heero, your giving me weird looks again." I guess I caught him off guard with that statement. His eyes widened slightly and he looked a little… embarrassed? I plastered a big grin on my face. "You gonna tell me what's on your mind? You know you're the only one who can read peoples thoughts, so I am actually clueless as to what goes on in that head of yours."

He smirked, breaking out of his embarrassed state from my little joke. "It's nothing." He said coolly. while picking up his walking pace. He was avoiding my question and now trying to make a run for it! 

"Like hell its nothing!… I thought we got past the whole 'secrets' part of our friendship!" Whoops, I said the friendship word. Stupid, Stupid. I looked down, hiding my eyes under my messy bangs as he stopped in his tracks. 

"Secrets? You're the one who has secrets." I could feel his eyes burning into the top of my skull but I still refused to look up. "While were on that subject, why don't you tell me why you have been stalking Trowa's boyfriend." Ok, now I looked up. 

Wide eyed I starred at Heero in disbelief. Oh yeah… I forgot he had seen me. Though I still don't know how… I thought I was being rather sneaky in my little hunt for information. Apparently not.

"I…" I couldn't say it… I know I could trust Heero, but…

"Then, I'll tell you what I'm thinking when you decide to tell me about Quatre." He started to walk ahead again, only looking back once to say, "But don't let Trowa catch you, he can get surprisingly jealous." 

I smiled at Heero's back as it rounded the corner to the school. I know Heero would never tell my secrets, and maybe someday I would actually confess to him about my cute little brother… but for now, I'll just keep stalking Quatre while trying to see how Heero managed to catch me. The whole 'jumping in a tree to get away from Quatre' act the other day probably really had Heero going crazy with curiosity. And I know what he does when he's curious, he damn well looked into my police file, at a police station where he could have been caught and… damn, he was really crazy sometimes.

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You ever just want to shoot your teacher to get 'em to shut up? But of course we cant, we'd all go to jail and the nice little government would pat themselves on the back saying 'another bad one put away, we are so good.' Heh… well, something like that.

Here I was in History, listening to an old guy named Howard go on about the wars. He always wore Hawaiian shirts, freaky, a different color every day! It made me wonder how many trips that guy took to Hawaii, if any. But that wasn't really what was on my mind, I just wanted him to stop talking or the bell to ring and dismiss us from this hell hole. There was still twenty minutes left of class and I 'just' realized that looking at the clock for thirty minutes only made the hour slower.

Yeah, his lecture was probably important, something about gundams and their help in changing history. But I already knew everything I needed to know about our damn past wars. Its not like I was going to go out in the job field saying, 'Hey, hire me because I know who all the rulers of the world are!'

'Sigh'… Usually I liked history, and Howard always has good stories, but the damn people just 'had' to put me in this class right before lunch. Luckily, no one could hear my stomach growling over the loud voice of the teacher. Food… what I wouldn't give for a slice of pizza right now. I bent my head on my desk and dreamed of all the things I would love to put in my stomach. I didn't even realize the class had gone quiet as I mumbled to myself. "Pizza, chocolate cake… maybe they have taco's today. Hilde's fudge bar… she always seems to have at lunch… could steal it from her, no?" 

Howard was now clearing his throat in front of my desk trying to get my attention. For some reason I could hear him, but my brain chose to ignore it and continued its little day dream of food.

"Maybe Heero will give me his rice bowl and I…"

"Mr. Maxwell!" Howards deep voice right next to my ear, startled me from my thoughts. I looked up to see the class snickering at my little show. The teach just stood there with his hands crossed and foot tapping slowly on the ground. "I would really appreciate it if you would pay attention!"

"Ah… I was paying attention?" I tried, well it was pretty obvious that I wasn't listening, but I didn't want to get in trouble and miss some of my lunch. Gah, I really hoped he didn't…

"Please see me after class." NOOOOOOO!!!

There was only ten minutes left, and I couldn't even last that long without getting into trouble! How pathetic! I slouched in my seat and looked away pouting. Fine, if he was going to make me stay after then I would at least not be bothered with the gruesome task of paying attention until then!

The bell rang, dismissing all but me! How very, very sad. I walked slowly up to Howard's desk with an annoyed expression plastered on my face. He was sitting there, feet propped up on the desk and a smirk set upon his lips while watching me make my way forward.

"What were we discussing today in class?" He asked, leaning his chair back and crossing his arms.

"About the revolutionary Gundam wars that happened… oh I don't know… three hundred years ago?" I said, hoping that my answer was enough for him.

He grinned slightly, "Fine." Opening his desk, he pulled something out. Gya! In his hand he held one of the chocolate fudge bars that they keep in the vending machines scattered around the school. I snatched for it, but he pulled it away quickly. 

"Tomorrow… you are going to eat a big breakfast so we don't have to repeat today's incident, right?"

"Yes, yes!" I said while successfully grabbing the bar. I didn't really want to tell him that the reason for me being so hungry was because I had a big Heero breakfast. My stomach must have stretched and made me hungrier then usual.

"Hey!… I didn't say you could have that!" He yelled to my retreating back. 

I tore out of there making my way to the lunch room, the yummy fudge bar already halfway gone. I was fully intent on pilling my plate full of food today, and I didn't care how much it would cost me! Well, that thought left as our lunch table came into view. Everyone was already there, eating there yummy looking lunches. With one addition to the table. Across from Heero, right next to Trowa was Quatre.

Of all the times for Quatre to be sitting with us, it 'had' to be the one day I was starving! I wondered if there was anywhere I could sit where they wouldn't notice me? But seeing as the food line was right next to their table, they would probably see me anyway. Gah, why me?! My stomach growled as I turned away from the cafeteria. I was almost out the door when Heero looked in my direction. 

Caught… Damn. At least it was only Heero seeing me leaving. Not Hilde, she would have jumped and hollered at me for running off again. Heero just raised an eyebrow then looked to Quatre and back to me in question. He already knew that I was running away from Quatre, and I bet he was just dying to find out why. Hah… I'll just let him hang in his curiosity.

I ignored Heero's angry glare and walked outside to go sit under a tree. Quatre couldn't stay all lunch could he? Maybe I could get something at least before the bell rang. 

Laying down on the soft grass I looked to the sky, squinting slightly at the brightness. The sun was hanging overhead and the heat made me relaxed. The Sister always said that sunshine made a person feel better. Probably had to do with the vitamins its suppose to give off. I laid there, soaking in the vitamins when all of a sudden a shadow fell over me. Opening my eyes, I stared up at the person blocking out my sun.

Heero was standing over me, cold eyes bearing into mine. "H-hey Heero, what's up?"

"You ran away again." He snorted while moving to sit down beside me. I sat up slightly, leaning on my elbows in order to see him better. 

"Obviously." I said, a little sarcastic. He just glared while pulling out something from his backpack.

"Well, guess you wouldn't be wanting this then." He opened up a bowl that had tin foil over it, inside was some fried rice mixed in with little pieces of beef. 

"Ah!" He pulled out a fork and started to eat it right in front of me. "Wait!" He ignored my little stutter and continued to eat. "F… Wa… Heeerrroooo!" I put on my best puppy dog face while trying to stop his fork from descending on the food.

"What? Did you want this?" I could tell he was amused at seeing my 'drooling pleading' face. Nodding my head up and down quickly I reached for the bowl. "Are you sure you want that? I already ate out of it." He asked, letting me take the bowl from his hands.

"Food… good… yum." I mumbled between bites of the rice. It was really good! I wondered where Heero had gotten it. He obviously didn't get it from home, since he spent the night at my place. "Where'd ya… food?" 

"I skipped fourth hour to go down to the Chinese restaurant a block away." He answered, eyes fixed amusedly on me shoving the food quickly into my wide mouth. I guess he thought my eating was pretty weird after always seeing his Aunt eat like a damn picky queen.

"Don't you get in trouble for skipping so much?" I asked, looking up from my food for only a second. 

"No." He didn't give me an explanation. Jeez, he always wants to make me work, now doesn't he?

I stopped the fork just long enough to ask, "Why not?" 

"I usually hack into the school system and change it so they forget about it. They all run off of computers now, if it isn't in their little box then it never happened." Heero laid down on the grass like I had done earlier, eyes closed, taking in the warm rays.

I snickered slightly at his answer. "One of these days your going to get caught doing all that illegal stuff."

He smirked, eyes still closed. "No I wont."

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The school day went by pretty fast after lunch was over. After all, I only had two classes. Heero's whole hacking thing got me thinking how I didn't get called into the office for skipping… he must have changed my record also. It made me glad to have someone like him for a friend.

I stood outside after school, dreading going home to my empty apartment and too afraid to ask Heero to come over. After a couple minutes of arguing with myself, I decided to stay after and maybe watch Wufei's karate club thing. The only problem was, I didn't know where it was. Turning back into the building I made my way through the maze of hallways.

So here I was a half hour later, walking around the school lost in one of the buildings. The long hallways all looked the same to me, and I could barely tell which ones held my classes! No wonder I easily got lost. I thought it would be in the athletics building, but Wufei had said something about it being in a second gym by the freshman classes. Of course, I didn't even know where the freshman were suppose to be! Stupid Duo!

I was just turning around from a dead end I had ended up in, when I heard voices coming from one of the classrooms. Maybe it was the karate club! I decided to investigate the voices that were getting louder as if yelling. Walking towards the door, I pressed my ear against the cold metal. I could hear two voices, one was really close to the door and the other was a little hard to hear so the person was probably across the room.

"Why'd you do that?!" The one closest to the door yelled. I couldn't really hear the response from the other person too well, it was a little low but it sounded like a sarcastic 'sorry'.

"You klutz! Do you always run people over like that?" The first voice was getting louder which made me realize that he was now right next to the door.

The low voice, which I could make out as a males now, got a little louder. "You know I didn't do it on purpose, just chill out. I only tripped you, its not like it's the end of the world!"

"Your always tripping you freak! What is it? Your shoes?"

"Knock it off Alex!"

"Why should I? You're the one who tripped me!"

"You know it was an accident, stop making it sound like it's a big deal! God, to think you actually got pissed off over that. Did you get an 'owie' on your knee?" The second voice asked tauntingly. 

This was pretty amusing, I decided that I wanted to help stop the argument. Yes, yes… I am now a peace maker! I opened the door quickly, successfully hitting the kid 'Alex' who was close to the door and he ended up falling sprawled out onto the floor with a big yelp. 

I smirked inside, but put on my best 'annoyed' look. "What the hell are you doing standing in front of a door like that?" I asked. 

He just looked up at me with wide eyes. Oh yeah, I must have been in the freshman section. Woohoo… I was on the right track! Maybe they would know where Wufei was. The freshman 'Alex' apologized to me before quickly exiting the room. I smiled and looked to the other kid, intending on asking him for directions. 

The words never left my mouth as I saw who the other kid was. 

How stupid could I get? How could I not recognize Quatre's voice? He stood there in front of me now, with a raised eyebrow and his hands folded carelessly across his light blue shirt. My mind told me to run, to get out of there before I'd actually have to speak to him. But I just stood there frozen, eyes never leaving the face that was looking at me curiously.

"Who are…" 

I interrupted him, "Ah… I was just looking for the karate room… do you know where it is?" I asked, nervousness showing in my voice. Finally finding movement in my limbs, I slowly started to back away. 

"Mh… I could show you if you want." His eyes were squinted slightly as he looked me over. My heart was pounding so quickly you'd think I'd been jogging a marathon. I could barely think straight, all my thoughts were occupied trying to control the screaming in my head. 

"No… no its alright Quatre, I can find it by myself." As I felt the cold metal of the door behind me I blindly searched for the handle, eyes still trapped in Quatre's light blue orbs.

A startled gaze fell over the blonds face, "How'd you know my name?"

Shit, shit… couldn't think straight and already screwed up! The door was now open and I hesitated for just a moment before leaving, finally able to pull my eyes away from my little brother.

I could hear him calling as I moved down the hall, it sounded like a soft plea for me to wait. I didn't run, more liked walked very, very quickly through the school and out one of the doors. Amazingly enough, I ended up back in front of the school.

My breath was rasp from my panting and I bent over, hands clutching knees while I collected my thoughts. Quatre… he didn't recognize me… That thought made something twist painfully inside of me and I just wanted to scream at something. Of course he wouldn't remember me! I was crazy to ever hope for that. But why did I keep running away, like some coward afraid of human contact! Now… I was afraid of two people, both family, Hall and Quatre. 

Sure, Quatre would not hurt me in a physical way like Hall, I knew that. And I should not have been as afraid as I was. I had no reason to run away… 

Scared of rejection? That was it, that is why I ran.

He was happy here… I know that. With Trowa and his rich family to look after him… why wouldn't he be? What if my presence only reminded him of the pain and suffering he had forgotten. What if after seeing me… he changes and becomes unhappy?

Once again, I felt like a total idiot. 

Why did I ever come here? 

I knew the answer… to find my brother… but that doesn't necessarily mean I had to show myself to him, right? I made sure he was fine, I should be happy with just that! All my worries had disappeared when I watched him, smiling and laughing, from my place in the shadows. I was not going to be so cruel as to reveal my presence at this school to him. 

Plus, I still had that Hall incident. What would happen if Hall found out Quatre was here? I would never forgive myself if I managed to get him involved. I don't want his life to be ruined! 

I stood there, outside of the steps, limbs shaking against the cold wind. My breath had long since calmed down but I still did not move from my position, eyes facing downward, not really seeing anything. My heart was crying out in sadness, and I clutched my knees tighter trying to will my tears away. They just kept falling, softly down my cheek, moist rivers of my pain.

Warmth enveloped me and I turned towards it instinctively, burying my head in something soft as I sobbed. Clinging to the soft fabric of someone's shirt, my hands began to tremble. I was moving now, being directed from the door to a near by bench. It all went by in a daze as we sat down and I was crying like a baby… is that what I've become? So weak and emotionally unstable that I couldn't even make sense of what was going on around me?

I think it was a while before I calmed down enough to realize that I was still firmly held in a warm embrace. I dared my eyes to look up, first seeing the black shirt… my shirt? My gaze rose up and I stared into dark blue eyes, no longer cold and now had a soft gleam of emotion swirling inside them. My heart jumped slightly… Heero.

I was seated, leaning against him, his arms clasped tightly around me as I calmed down. My tears stopped as I found his comfort. He always seemed to catch me in my weakest moments, it was almost freaky how he was always there to help me… just like the other day when he stayed at my apartment to lessen my fright. How could he be so amazingly strong?

"What's wrong?" He asked, hand coming up to wipe away some of my stray tears. 

My eyes never left his, and my lip twitch slightly before I gave a pathetic smile. "How can you be so strong?" I was startled I had actually said that out loud, but Heero seemed to be even more shocked then me. His eyes went wide in confusion as the words left my mouth. 

We sat there just staring at each other for a while outside the school, before Heero finally turned his head away to speak, face once again emotionless and not showing the feelings he had been just moments ago. "Come on, lets get you home." Pulling me to my feet, he dropped the embrace and I swayed a little before fully getting my balance.

Did I say something wrong? Heero seemed disturbed for some reason as we walked down the street towards my place. He didn't even turn to look at me until we were upstairs and he was done looking around my apartment. There was a note from Kemp on the counter, but I ignored it. My full attention resting on the Heero's weird behavior.

"Heero…?" I hesitated slightly upon seeing his cold eyes on me. "Is… did I…" The words were choked up in my throat and I was a little afraid that if I did get them voiced, I would not like the answer I received.

Heero stared at me a little more before sighing and pulling his hand through his hair. "I am not strong." He said. I felt my eyes widen slightly at this statement. Was he mad because I had said that?

"How could you not be? After all that has happened to you?" I asked, looking at his bowed head.

We stood there, in the kitchen of my apartment, silent, until Heero could find the words to say, "I'm weak…you're a lot stronger than me, you just don't see it."

I snorted at that, obviously he had forgotten my little outburst back at the school. "Yeah, right."

He continued, "Do you know how hard it is… for me to… express how I feel?" Heero eyes showed some sadness lurking in their depths that had me standing there, amazed. "You make it seem so easy, you don't care what people think and just act like yourself… I see you… acting so friendly, able to show yourself to everyone without worrying about how they are going to see you… showing yourself freely… not afraid of people… I cant…" He gave up his little rant with a frustrated sigh, sitting down abruptly on a kitchen chair, head down avoiding my startled gaze.

My mouth hung open as I processed what Heero had just said. Does he really think so highly of me? How can he see that as strength? "I don't… that may be my strong point, but… I'm a mess! You saw me today, when I came out of the school like a total idiot, crying on your shoulder even!"

He stood up, walking slowly over to me while speaking, "Being able to live knowing that someone wants you dead… Moving to a new town and having to live by yourself… How are you not seeing that? Are you blind to yourself? Do you only pick out the flaws you have and not see all your strong points?! I don't know what other people would have turned out like if they lived like you have… being an orphan, growing up without parents… and yet you are still happy and so full of…" His voice grew louder and he was now standing only a foot away from me. "Take me for example… any normal person in a situation similar to yours… would be like me! Weak!" His eyes, almost angry, pinned me down where I stood.

"Do you still think you are weak now?" Heero held out his arm, showing me the scar he had under his elbow. "Look at this." He then lifted up his shirt and I could see a long scar on his stomach. "And this… these are weak Duo. Do you know why?"

Was he trying to say that…he… "You d-didn't…" My voice was so low, almost like a whisper compared to Heero's.

"I did!" He was now yelling slightly, looking at me with desperate eyes. "These are all self inflicted! I did them to myself! I did them because I was weak and hated myself!" He closed his eyes as if fighting off tears that did not fall. Hands shaking, he walked past me, taking hold of the door knob. It seemed to turn slowly, maybe he was waiting for me to say something to him before he left. But all I could do was stand there, too in shock at his outburst of emotion.

The door closed quietly. Heero was gone, and I was still too stunned to even move my gaze from the closed door. 

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Yay! Another chapter done! Please tell me what you think!


	9. Stage my Fate

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Talks about `self injury`. Nothing else really bad in this chapter.

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage My Fate

Some things just should have never been said. These are the things you will always regret, telling yourself that it could have been better… it could have been different. I just had to open my big mouth once again and ruin a perfectly good situation. I had somehow, with one little sentence, caused Heero to be 'really' pissed off at me. Not intentionally, no, but it still happened. 

As I sat staring outside from my first hour Art class, all I could think about was Heero. I hadn't seen him when I came to school, yet he never left my mind. As I stared out at the rain falling down outside, I thought of what had happened between us yesterday. Heero… had been so nice, odd as it was. But, why had he flipped out so… just because….

Gah… I guess I could compare our relationship to the weather outside. One day its all sunny and bright and then WHAM, the rain pours down out of nowhere making you think, 'Hmm, how strange.' Ok… so maybe I'm not the best at comparing things. All I know is that I hit something hard inside of Heero, something that made him freak out and start yelling.

He hated himself… He cut himself… He showed me all of that yesterday, leaving me shocked and somehow… scared. I had never even thought Heero the type to hurt himself like that. Why though? He said it was because he was weak… Ugh… I'm so confused, I don't think I will ever understand what is hidden under that mask of his. And I don't think he will ever show me all of what he's hidden, but that wont stop me from trying.

I could feel Trowa's eyes on me, he had been looking at me worriedly since I walked into the class. I don't blame him, I would be worrying also if suddenly a talkative person stopped his talking. Yeah, I hadn't even said 'hi' to him. Kinda mean of me, but like I said before, all I could think about was Heero.

I wanted things to go back to how they were, but would he ignore me today? Would he look at me with cold eyes that once sent chills down my spine? Yes, I once again am thinking like a wimp. Heero had told me yesterday that I was strong, but I don't think I will fully believe him unless I believe myself first. 

I've never really thought about emotions as being a strong point in someone. Well, only the well known ones, such as bravery, courage… but what about me? He stood there, telling me that I was strong for acting like myself. I was strong for showing people my emotions… for being happy? Was that true?

The bell rang to dismiss class, I could see Trowa out of the corner of my eye, making his way over to me. I didn't really want to talk to him right now. The only person I did want to talk to was Heero… and he was wouldn't be talking to me for a long time I feared.

Shit, shit, shit.

"Duo?" Trowa was right next to me now, as I walked towards our next class. He could have been just wanting to walk next to me… maybe he wouldn't ask why I've been acting so weird. Gah, whom I kidding, if I mope around all day then everyone's going to be asking me. 

I put on a big smile before turning to Trowa, "Hey, what's up Tro?" 

His eyes widened slightly, and when I say slightly I mean very, very slightly. "Hmmm…" It seemed like he was studying me as we made our way into the next class. "You seemed a little out of it today." 

"Aa." Was the only reply I gave him as I sat down next to Relena. The math teacher came in looking grumpy and yelling something about going to the copy room. So, the class was left alone to socialize with each other and see who could make the most noise! Heh… aren't I 'so' positive about these things. I just hoped that Trowa and Wufei wouldn't come over to talk… since they were sitting only a desk away. 

I turned to Relena quickly as I saw Wufei look in my direction. It seemed that Trowa was discussing something with him… something as in 'me'. 

"Relena! How is the Prom stuff coming along?" She looked at me, a little surprised that I was actually interested in something like that. I don't blame her… I definitely didn't look like I was interested, but I really did want her to win so that Hilde would be off my back.

"Duo." She said, like she was going to greet me before talking… how weird. "The Prom preparations are fine, and I am running for Prom Queen if you didn't already know." There was no doubt in my mind that she was a rich girl. By the way she talked, she'd most definitely follow in her families political footsteps.

"Aa… so I here, I was wondering if you needed any help… with your flyers or the stuff… that one does when… running for Prom Queen." I really knew little about all this stuff. Maybe it would take my mind off my problems, being busy always seems to do that. Though… I don't really know what kind of 'busy' I was dealing with here. 

"Really." She looked at me suspiciously for awhile before answering with, "But, I thought you were friends with Hilde… she's also running for Prom Queen."

Hmmm… so the princess actually pays attention to people other than herself… amazing. Now, I didn't really want to tell Relena about our little bet, she might get mad that me and Hilde were playing around with the whole thing. So I'd have to bend the truth a little. "Ah… well you know, Hilde's not really prom queen material. I don't know 'what' she was thinking when she agreed to run." I said in a really staid voice. Inside, I was laughing at how serious Relena was taking me.

"I completely agree!" She said while giving me a brilliant, most likely practiced, smile. "Well, I would be thrilled to have you helping me! I'm having a meeting tomorrow morning with some of the people on my team. Come then, and we'll talk."

"Team?" I looked at her confused. Did she mean she had other people helping her?

"Oh, yes… I have about oh I don't know, fifteen people working on my Campaign…"

"Fifteen? Campaign?" My eyes were pretty wide at this. I knew it wasn't normal for… for… fifteen? Gah! What the hell did she need me for then? And what was she talking about, campaign? Sigh… I really knew 'nothing' about this stuff.

"Is something wrong?" She flipped her hair behind her and batted her lashes at me. I think I would have puked, but I've embarrassed myself too many times during school as it was.

"No… I'll… try and be there." I actually was regretting asking her this. There was no way Hilde was going to win with Relena's pep squad helping her. I grumbled inside and Relena turned away to talk to someone else. I felt a little bad for Hilde… her having no chance to win and all.

I slumped back into my seat as the teacher made his way through the door. I was about to zone out the lesson and the world, when I noticed that Wufei was glaring at me. 

Huh? What'd I do now?

He turned quickly away with a huff and I was left feeling confused and… damn! Another person is pissed at me. This is not my day!

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Lunch came, and I was happy to note that Quatre was off sitting somewhere else, which meant I could actually eat. Heero wasn't at the table which hurt a little… where was he? Was he avoiding me… maybe he couldn't face me after the outburst yesterday. But… god, I really wanted to see him.

As I sat down with my food, I noticed that Wufei was glaring at me from his spot across the table. "What?" I asked, looking at him with big confused eyes.

He crossed his arms and glared some more before saying, "Your helping Relena, are you not?" 

Eh? He heard me… shit, no wonder he was staring at me during class. 

"What?!" Hilde's loud voice right next to me sent a buzz through my head. "Duo! I cant believe you! That is so low!" She yelled.

"Wha?" I rubbed my temple trying to get the buzzing to stop before saying, "Why are you flipping out? You're the one who made the bet! And there is no way I'm being your slave!" 

Her face seemed to twist slightly in pout. "But… but… you didn't have to go so far as to help… 'Her'." 

Wufei had lost his angry look at the exchange between me and Hilde. I guess she hadn't told anyone about our little 'bet' yet. Just like her to forget something important. I bet she wouldn't even remember that she was running if Wufei didn't complain about it so much.

"You… made a bet?" Wufei asked, looking at me in question.

"Yeah, well… its more like 'Hilde' made a bet and I got dragged into it." I said loudly so Hilde, who was mumbling some curses under her breath could hear me.

"Me?" She yelled, looking at me in astonishment. "Your blaming me for this? You could have refused! And you're the one who said that I'd have to…" She held up a fist and a look of determination crossed her face. "I am NOT going to wear pink for a whole week!" 

I could hear Trowa's little chocked up laugh from across the table, and Wufei was now looking amusedly at Hilde. "If you didn't want to bet in the first place, then why don't you call it off?" He suggested.

"No way." Hilde said along with me, causing us to both glare at each other.

"I'm not going to be your slave." I growled.

"Yes you are."

"No… your going to wear pink."

"Slave, Slave!"

We went on like that until Wufei scolded at us for acting like children. I felt a little better after arguing with Hilde, I was flared up and ready to beat her! I guess having something else on my mind pushed the other thoughts away for awhile. Not that they stayed that way for long. 

As I finished my lunch, something from across the room caught my attention. It was Heero's back, exiting the lunch room. Was he in here the whole time? Watching me… and I didn't even see him!

Hopping up from my seat, I yelled a hasty goodbye before sprinting towards where Heero had left. Cold air hit me as I stepped out into the rainy weather. I was still under the shelter where the rain wouldn't come, but the icy wind sent goose bumps down my arms. Where did he go?

It took me a while to find him, but I finally spotted him standing by the gate of the school, completely under the downpour. I slowly made my way to him, hoping that he wouldn't run or something if he saw me. He didn't. As I stood beside him, he just glanced at me before resuming his normal position. I think he was watching something, something across the street, but I was too cold to really pay attention.

"H-Heero. o… its c-cold, why you standing out h-ere?" I asked while rubbing my arms trying to get warmly friction. My hair was now completely soaked, as well as my clothes. Shit… that was going to take forever to dry. 

He just grunted while tilting his head up towards the sky. He looked really beautiful in that position, like some picture that's suppose to be in a museum. Water running down his face, arms lightly pressed against his sides. I felt that if I were to touch him, it would shatter, like glass and he would be gone. 

"Heero…?" My fingers lightly brushed against his hand in order to get his attention. As my skin pressed against his, my eyes went wide at the iciness of his once warm hand. "Heero! Your freezing! Come on, come back inside." I pleaded, while tugging at his numb hand.

"I don't want to go back in there." His voice was low, like a whisper, but I was able to hear it. He sounded so sad, and my heart broke as he looked at me with those eyes, lost and afraid.

Entwining my fingers in his, I pulled him back inside the gate, heading towards the athletics building. He didn't resist at all and he was acting… strange. We came to the door outside the changing room and I didn't even bother to think that anyone might be in there. My mind was completely filled with worry for the silent boy being dragged behind me. 

The locker room was cold, making me curse the stupid people who never put heaters in. Dragging Heero to a nearby bench, I made him sit while I got out our gym clothes. They wouldn't get us warm, but at least they were dry. Heero looked at me weird as I opened his locker without asking the combination. I just smirked slightly and pulled out a pair on his shorts. My locker was right next to his and I just happened to see him use the combination once. Ok, so I had purposely watched him a couple times to get his combo, so sue me. 

"What the hell were you standing in the rain for? Were you trying to get yourself sick?!" My voice was loud from anger as I threw him his clothes. He caught it but made no move to put it on until I glared at him in warning. I could see him shivering slightly as he pealed the wet clothes from his skin, giving me a clear view of his scars. 

I know I shouldn't have looked, but I couldn't help tracing my eyes down his body memorizing all the marks he had there. It wasn't too many, just a slash on his stomach, a couple on his arms, the one above his knee and the tiny slash above his eyebrow. It made me wonder how many had faded away over time, if any. 

Heero caught me staring at him and he turned his head down and to the side, like he was ashamed to have me see them. His mouth opened slightly, as if he was trying to say something, but couldn't. 

"Do you…" My soft voice brought his head back up to look at me. "Do you… still…"

"No, I haven't for a year." He mumbled in reply.

I sighed, slightly relieved that he didn't hurt himself anymore… but did that mean he had stopped hating himself? I wanted to ask, but… I really did not want him to get mad at me anymore, I wanted to go back to how things used to be… us as friends.

Actually… now that I think about it… Heero seemed to still trust me enough… even now he was answering my questions with honesty. Maybe he wasn't mad… like I had thought. He didn't really look all that angry, more like… sad, depressed and confused.

"Heero…" I walked over to sit by him on the bench, my voice a little shaky and eyes downcast, afraid to look at him. "I wanted… to apologize…" 

"No." He cut me off, standing quickly to his feet. My heart jumped slightly as he turned his cold gaze to me. Did he not want to accept my apology? Was he going to… to…

"You didn't do anything wrong. 'I' should be apologizing." He said quickly after seeing the distress come across my face. I felt a little relieved but it was quickly overruled by the amazement I felt when realizing that Heero was apologizing… he wasn't mad at me!

I could feel my mouth rising into the first real smile that I had showed all day. "We are two messed up teenagers, huh?" I smirked up at him from my spot on the bench.

Heero snorted and replied with, "Yeah, just think of what will happen when we become adults." 

I laughed at that, feeling a little warmth spread through me. "Well… legally I am already an adult." My mouth twisted into an evil grin as I thought of something, "And children are always suppose to listen to adults, are they not?"

"What are you talking about? I'm older than you!" Heero crossed his arms and glared at me. It wasn't a 'I'm pissed glare', no, this was the glare he only used for me, the 'I'm smarter than you so deal with it glare.' Hah… I just love to create names for Heero's personality. 

"You are? When did I tell you my birthday?" I asked, eyebrow raised a little. I hadn't even asked him how old he was, or when his birthday was. It could have been yesterday for all I know!

"You didn't."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I swear! If you don't get in trouble for doing that, then I will report you!" I wondered where Heero had learned how to use a computer so well. I had never known someone like him, who would change things and never, ever get caught. It was kinda annoying, when ever I did something bad I got caught more than not, though I usually used my witty charm to get myself out of it.

"You wouldn't." He seemed so sure of himself, sure that I wouldn't tell on him. And he was right, like usual. I would never tell on him… but I wasn't going to let him know that.

"I'm gonna go down to Une's office right now and tell her! Yup, and you cant stop me!" 

"Yeah, in your gym clothes, halfway through the class period you skipped… I'm sure she would be thrilled." He snorted, trying hard to hide the amusement in his eyes.

I stood there gaping at him. I could never win! Me! The person who could usually talk their way out of anything! Could not win against Heero in a battle of words! And he rarely talked… Gah! How frustrating! 

My little rant in my brain was cut off as the gym door opened loudly and a short blond kid stumbled in. I stood up grabbing Heero's arm in a tight grip as I stared at Quatre who was panting slightly, hands on his knees. 

"Wha… Phew… I am sooo late…" He mumbled, finally looking up from the ground, straight at me and Heero. His light blue eyes widened as they fell upon me. "You…" He said, pointing a thin finger in my direction.

It seemed like hours went by, when actually only a couple minutes, I just stared at him… afraid. I was trapped! Quatre was standing right in front of my exit… no where to run… no where to hide. I could feel myself starting to shake beside Heero, and he seemed to realize also for he put a hand on my shoulder trying to calm me down.

"Duo…" Heero said while looking from me to Quatre in confusion.

Quatre's eyes widened even more as Heero said my name. Shit… I would have cursed him if not still frozen where I stood. 

"Du-o?" Quatre said my name slowly as he took a step forward. I could feel my breath quickening and my grip on Heero's arms increased. "Your… Duo?" He asked. 

I wanted to leave… I needed to get out of there! I couldn't face him again… I would break down again… weak. I mentally slapped myself and took a deep breath in attempt to pull out of my fears. 

There had to be a way out of this… I needed to think. But my mind was still fuzzy as I stared at Quatre who was walking slowly towards me. 

"I… I have to leave…" It was the best I could think of at the time, I swear! Pathetic as it was, it did stop Quatre from advancing. I took that opportunity to make a dash for the door. Well, I didn't get even two feet before someone had grabbed my arm in a tight grip that I couldn't get out of. I thought it was Heero at first, until I saw him standing stunned across the room. 

Quatre was glaring at me and his hand tightened around my wrist making me wince. "Why do you keep running away?!" He yelled, his outburst shocking me as well as himself. 

If only he knew.

My heart was pounding quickly inside my chest as I stared into his light orbs. This was it… I was stuck.

"Who are you?" He asked, looking at me in confusion. It looked like he was struggling with himself about something. Almost as if he was afraid of what I would say.

He was so close to me, actually touching me… and all I could do was stand there in fear, afraid of him! Afraid of my brother, afraid of his reaction. I looked at him for awhile and willed my fears away… there was no use being scared now, I had to be strong, since he would find out soon. I just hoped that whatever his reaction was… it wouldn't hurt me too much. 

I closed my eyes as I thought of what to say. Nothing, I couldn't think of anything! Quatre seemed to be getting a little impatient at my lack of response, his hand loosened and I wondered what would be on his face right now. And Heero's… he must be thrilled to be finally finding out what was going on. But I wouldn't open my eyes to look at them.

Concentrate. I told myself over and over again. I needed to calm down, and think. There was no getting out of this… no turning back… only one thing to do. But how would I do it? Should I outright tell him who I am? Or should I see if he remembers first… obviously he remembers something, or he wouldn't be holding onto me like this. 

Only one thing was for certain, I was a jumbled mess of emotions.

Well, like they say… sink or swim. There was nowhere to swim so I might as well sink. 

My eyes opened, and I could now see that Quatre was looking at me with concern. Probably because I was shaking so bad. "D-Dill… I mean Quatre… I…"

He gasped slightly cutting me off with a choked, "W-what did you say? Who… How did you…?" His hand dropped my wrist and he backed away from me with wide eyes.

"I'm…" I looked down to the ground and then to Heero, trying to gauge his reaction. He was watching our little exchange with confusion written all over his face. 

Opening my mouth again, I tried to tell Quatre, tried to tell the truth, but it wouldn't sound.

"Duo…" Quatre had his hand covering his mouth as he looked at me with those wide eyes, slowly filling with tears. "You cant be… you cant be…" A choked sob escaped his lips and he slumped to the ground, never taking his eyes off of me. 

I reached out a hand… wanting to touch, to comfort him, but still too nervous to take that small step forward.

"You cant be… you cant be…" He kept mumbling that over and over again and I was starting to get scared. Was he really so afraid of me… I knew it was a bad idea to show him my presence. Look at what it had done to him! I've made him cry! 

My mental cursing was interrupted as Quatre whispered something that made my heart freeze up. My eyes widened as my knees gave way causing me to fall back onto the locker room bench. Did he just say… he couldn't have… He repeated it once more, successfully stopping my breath.

"Y-your… dead."

TBC.

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Damn… that was a hard chapter! Hope you enjoyed… tell me what ya thought! Hopefully I will get the next chapter out on time… but I am going to be busy moving and 'gasp' I have to take apart my computer! 


	10. Stage Resolved

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: angst

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Resolved

"What do you mean?" I finally asked when I could bring myself to start breathing again. "Dead…?" Did he just say I was dead? Did I hear that right? I've been called pretty weird things in my seventeen years, but no one had called me a dead guy before. And why should they? I'm alive! I breath! My heart pumps blood through all my tiny veins!

Quatre just sat there on the floor, tears falling down as he looked up at me. Is that what he thought? Did he think that I had died? Question after question ran through my head and I felt myself falling into a deep pit of confusion.

"They… told me you were dead." He murmured, slowly standing to his feet, trying to wipe away the wet trails running down his face. His hand were shaking a little to hard and he only succeeded in smearing the tears.

"Who?" I asked, feeling a sudden wash of anger start to come over me.

"My… f-family… told me you were… they said you had…" 

"I'm not dead!" I yelled angrily. He flinched at my harsh words. But I didn't care, I was to wrapped up in the notion that Quatre had thought I was laying somewhere in a coffin. 

"I know…" he inched slowly towards the door. "I need… to think… I cant… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." Opening the door, he quickly backed up into the hallway. Pained and frightened eyes looked at me for a moment before quickly disappearing, saying one last shaky 'sorry' he ran, leaving me alone with Heero in the cold locker room. My mind was screaming at me to go after him, to make him stay and explain himself. But I couldn't… I had really screwed up!

I didn't collapse, or break down in tears after he left… I just stood there in silence. Heero seemed to realize my need to be left alone and said nothing as I collected myself enough to stand and leave. Its funny, I totally expected to be balling my eyes out. Who wouldn't with this horrible turn of events. I guess it was the unrealistic feeling I got, thinking 'maybe this is just a dream' or 'maybe it never happened'. 

I didn't bother to change out of my PE clothes as we left. I wanted to feel the cold rain pouring down on my skin. Wanted to remind myself that this was definitely 'not' a dream and I hoped the coldness would start to numb away the ache in my chest. 

Walking slowly next to Heero, it seemed forever before the apartment complex came into view. I didn't even look to check if there was a little green box on the front steps. There could have been twenty for all I cared. Oddly, I was acting surprisingly calm. Maybe it was because I had finally confessed, and no longer had to run from my little brother. Or maybe it was Heero, being there for me. He would help me if I were to break down, heh, it would be pretty funny to see him dealing with a mental cased Duo, now wouldn't it?

Heero must be feeling confused as hell, even more so than me. I know, I owed him an explanation. But if I were to try and get my voice to work now… I might not be able to stop the angry words that were circling around in my head. Words that I would regret saying, things I didn't mean. Yes, I was still angry… at Quatre… at his family. 

Why? That is all I wanted to know… why had they told him I was dead? Why did he believe them?! I hurt so much inside, yet I still would not let myself fall so low as to cry. I had already broken down yesterday, and it didn't do me any good. I needed to be stronger, and so I forced those weak feelings away from my mind. The coldness helped. I concentrated on my hands that were quickly numbing, flexing my fingers and feeling the weird sensation it produced. If only I could numb my thoughts, my memories of that day. I wanted to numb away the look of pain I saw in Quatre's eyes, the fear he had on his face when he looked up at me. But they wouldn't go away!

We entered my apartment quietly. Heero took a hold of my arm, slowly leading me over to the couch. Gentle arms pushed me down onto the soft cushions, forcing me to sit. Not that I could protest, my legs feeling completely useless now. My clothes were soaked and my body frozen, but I wasn't in the mood to care. 

Heero left, walking into my bedroom and returning with my blanket. He set the comforter next to me while proceeding to take off my wet shirt. Its funny how things can get switch around so fast. Just an hour ago it had been me taking care of Heero, making him change into dry clothes after he had been standing in the rain. And now, here he was, returning the favor.

As my shirt came off, I finally felt the pain of coldness that was prickling over my body. If I were to look into a mirror, I'm sure I would have looked blue lipped and pale. My body was raking in shivers as Heero pulled the blanket tightly around me. He still had his wet clothes on and I wanted to yell at him to go change. I guess I was shivering too bad because the only sound that came out was a soft hum of chattered teeth. 

My eyes slit shut and my muscles tightened up in attempt to get warm. It felt like I would never stop shaking… that is, until I felt Heero wrap his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. He didn't say anything as I laid the side of my head on his now bare shoulder, only tightened his grip. Hmm? When had he taken off his shirt? Oh well… this was nice.

They say that it is bad for someone to be cold when in shock… was I in shock? I couldn't really tell. But I was cold, and I felt sick… but when I snuggled into Heero's arms… I felt the comfort that he had shown me yesterday, when he had held me while I was crying. His arms were wrapped tightly around my one shoulder and I was hoisted up onto his lap. It made me think of Sister Helen, and how she would hold me when I was younger. I knew Heero was only doing it to get me warm, but I couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness.

I would have blushed if I had enough heat in me to produce any amount of color. Here we were, both sitting half naked cuddled on my living room sofa. Somehow, I felt a whole lot better. 

"What would I ever do without you Heero?" I whispered into his shoulder. He didn't respond, just rubbed his hand over my blanket covered back in small circles. That felt really good and I found myself drifting slightly to sleep. I didn't fall all the way into slumber, just sort of to the in-between state. I think we stayed like that for hours, Heero just holding me as I dozed slightly on and off. I bet his legs were cramped and killing him, but he didn't fidget once in uncomfortable ness.

My shivering had stopped a long time ago, and now I was completely dry and feeling the warmth coming off of Heero's body, pressed tightly against mine. I wanted to stay like that forever, but like all good things, it had to end. 

"My life would be a lot similar if I hadn't come to this town." I mumbled to myself, but soon regretted it as I felt Heero tense up beside me. Sitting up, he made an attempt to pull away from me, but I was quick to wrap my arms around him, pinning him in place. "No! I didn't mean it like that!" I looked at him, violet eyes showing my seriousness. "I didn't mean it like that. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here!" I said quickly, trying to get my message across. "I just meant… that its been really hard… everything lately."

His eyes softened and he relaxed under my hold, accepting what I had said. I really needed to talk to Heero about my mumbled conversations! "Listen Heero…" My arms let him loose and I pointed a finger at his chest in mock anger, pushing him slightly into the back of the sofa. "You need to not take everything I say so seriously!" He snorted and looked away while crossing his muscled arms like he was angry, but I could tell he understood what I was saying. 

Just then a weird noise interrupted the silence of the room. My eyes popped open as my stomach growled loudly. "Ehehehe…"

"Hungry?" He asked while pushing me off of him. I ended up falling to the floor, butt first, making Heero chuckle slightly.

"Thanks a lot!" I yelled, blowing at my bangs to get them out of my eyes.

"Ne, Heero?" I called as I walked over to my bedroom, intending on getting us some warmer clothes. "You making me something to eat?" My drawers were almost empty, most the stuff dirty, but I found us some clothes that would be suitable. Walking out of the room, I tossed Heero a long sleeve black shirt and some baggy shorts that would go a little past his knees. He growled at them but walked to the bathroom to put them on anyway. 

My mouth stretched into a grin as I saw that the shirt was a little too tight on his muscular frame. Not that it looked bad, no, it looked really, really good… nice and tight. Gya… got to stop my perverted thoughts! 

"What do you want to eat." He asked. I could see something like annoyance on his face as he went to look into my food cupboard. Heh… must have been bugging him that I kept staring at him. I couldn't help it, he was to hot to not look at!

"Anything's fine." Something on the counter caught my eye as I said this, it was the note from Kemp that I forgotten to read. Gah… hope it wasn't important. I picked it up to read his nice little handwriting and groaned after finishing it. Heero stopped his search for food and look in my direction. 

"What?" He didn't wait for an answer and grabbed the note from my hand. "Hmm." Was all he said before resuming his task of cooking. 

"Not, 'Hmm'… more like 'damn stupid police stations'!" I yelled angrily ripping up the note.

"They only want you to go down there, what's the worse that could happen?" He held out a can of chicken noodle soup and I nodded my head giving him a go ahead to make it. 

"They'll tell me something I really don't want to know." My head fell to my hands as I groaned. "Like something about Hall… my luck they'll say 'oh Duo! you have to move, we think Hall is on your trail!' Or something like that." 

Heero paused the can opener slightly looking over to me with wide eyes. "You'll have to leave?" He asked, surprise written on his face. 

"Didn't I tell you? That's what I have to do… leave. If someone finds out, or if they think I am in danger here." Heero seemed to contemplate this before looking at me with sad eyes.

"Your not going to tell them I know about it are you?"

Eh? Why was Heero acting so weird?

"No… I don't want to leave, I like it here." I said, hands rubbing nervously together as I watched the weird emotions play on his face.

"Good…" He started the can opener again and added. "I don't want you to leave either."

I could feel my eyes widening as Heero said that. Did he… just say that he didn't want me to leave… does that mean he actually likes me? Well of course he does, otherwise he wouldn't have told me his whole life history. But actually hearing it from his own mouth made me want to jump up and embrace him with happiness. I settled for a big grin instead.

Heero turned in my direction and nearly dropped the can at seeing my huge smile. "What?" He grumbled before ducking down to find a pan. I think he was trying to hide the blush that was on his cheeks when he popped back up, metal pan in hand.

Aww… Heero was a little embarrassed! I decided to play with him for a little while. "You'd miss me if I left?" I asked, batting my eyelashes like I had seen Relena do when trying to look innocent and… uh, sweet? He just snorted, ignoring my question. 

I walked over to the living room, chuckling at Heero's embarrassment, and grabbed the TV remote. "Heero… Kemp says I should go tomorrow." I said while flipping on the television.

"And?" I could hear him looking through the cupboard again and cursing as a loud clank sound was heard. Heh… he must have dropped something, who knew, even Heero can make mistakes. Maybe he was actually a klutz like Quatre. Ugh… I really didn't need to think about him right now. I'd only get depressed again.

"Will you come with me?" I whispered. I didn't think he heard me at first because of the long pause. 

"Aa… come and get your food." I smiled inside as I walked over towards the table. Heero was loading our plates with soup and crackers and my mouth watered as I took in the smell. 

We ate in pretty much silence, I was too busy shoving the soup in my mouth to speak. But as I was finishing up the last of my second bowl, Heero asked the question that I had been dreading since we got home. 

"Are you going to tell me about Quatre?" He wouldn't look at me while saying this. His dark blue eyes seemed to trace the tables wood streaks in nervousness. Heero always had a hard time asking me questions… like he was afraid he would be rejected and not receive an answer. Or maybe it was that he was afraid I'd lie to him. That brought me back to the memory of the day when I had fallen asleep in the tree. Heero had said something about 'seeing if I was lying to him.' I wonder why he would worry about something like that… or maybe I'm just reading 'way' too much into this.

Sighing, I put down my spoon and leaned back into my chair. Heero deserved an answer, he had been dragged into my situation this far and it was only right that I should be truthful with him. I took a deep breath before speaking, "Quatre… his real name is Dill. He was adopted about ten years ago, I haven't seen him since. I… told you before that I was put into the orphanage when I was seven. Dill… Quatre, my little brother, was five at the time. I hadn't thought he would remember me… after all these years. That's kinda why I was running away, I guess." 

"Your little brother." He looked at me and nodded his head slightly as if coming to a conclusion about something. "I see… you do look alike."

I couldn't help myself… My hands came to clutch the side of my stomach as I tried to contain the laughter that was spilling out. Heero… had just said we looked alike! Hah! 

From across the table Heero glared at me in annoyance. "So-sorry… its just that you're the only person to ever think we look alike." I said. I took a deep breath to calm down and patted my stomach a couple times to show I was full. "Thanks for the food! You make a good house wife."

"Baka." He snorted. I stared at him in confusion… baka? What's that?

"What's Taka?" I asked, scratching my head as I tried to think of what it could mean. It sounded a little different when I said it, but it was probably because it was a different language.

I looked over to see a smirk on his face. "Taka is Bangladesh currency." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You called me money?"

"No."

"Then what'd you call me?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Heero! Your avoiding the question!"

"Question?"

"Gah! Fine I give up!" I threw my hands up in the air with a loud sigh and crossed my arms in attempt to look mad. It didn't work though, since I couldn't successfully get the goofy grin off of my face. Heero was actually joking around with me… that was a big improvement on his part and I couldn't help but feel thrilled at his change in behavior. He was actually starting to open up to me a little… or a lot.

After dinner, I volunteered to clean the dishes, since Heero had done the cooking… Ok, so I was actually forced by Heero's death glare to clean the stupid plastic plates, but I still cleaned them! Good enough, ne?

After I was all finished, we sat down on the couch and watched some more old movies. It was getting late and I was hoping that Heero would spend the night… but sadly, he told me he had to go home. He wouldn't tell me why, he just said he had something important he needed to take care of. 

Heh… I found out the next day that he actually went home to hack into the school's computer and change our absences for fifth and sixth hour. So kind of him… and he still didn't get caught! Pretty soon our teachers were going to wonder why we weren't getting in trouble… wait what am I talking about? There is no way I am going to miss any more classes! Nope!

Well, even that said… I ended up being twenty minutes late for my first hour class the next day. The teacher was forced to mark me absent. Lucky me, my alarm clock forgot to set itself… heh. 

The first thing I noticed when walking into the room was the gray mood surrounding Trowa. He looked like he had a really bad night last night or something. That gave me an idea! I walked up to him and looked seriously at him like he had when confronting me yesterday about my non talkativeness.

"Trowa?" He looked up at me, as if surprised I was right next to him… yup definitely something wrong with him. 

He just mumbled. "Hey, Duo."

"You look a little out of it today." I said, trying my best to impersonate his voice as he told me that same thing yesterday morning. He looked up at me wide eyed for a second before a smirk fell across his lips.

"Aa." Heh… I forgot about the whole 'I never answered him' thing. Oh well, at least I got him to smile a little. Mission complete.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By lunch time I could see that Trowa had become worse, he hadn't even taken one bite of his sandwich, it just stood mid air in front of his mouth. Hilde seemed to notice as well, she was tilting her head and making funny faces trying to get him to snap out of his little daze. Well, it only succeeded in getting 'my' attention and made me chuckle at her. Hilde just glared at me, guess she wasn't over the whole 'I will help Relena kick your butt' incident.

"Trotro? What's wrong with you?!" Hilde yelled loudly to break Trowa out of his gloomy state. He just grunted slightly and took the first bite out of his meal.

"He couldn't get a hold of Quatre yesterday and all of today." Wufei said for him.

"He wouldn't take my calls!" Trowa shouted, his eyes went wide and he looked to the side, embarrassed from his outburst.

Aa… great. Quatre must be really shocked by all of this. I wish I knew where he was… so that I could talk to him. Find out what was going on with him, and who told him I was… dead. Gah! That so pisses me off! I can not believe that for ten frikin years he had thought of me in a coffin six under! 

I could feel a pain from the palm of my hands and realized I was squeezing my fists so hard that my nails were breaking skin. How did I ever get so messed up? That's right… it all started when I came to this city, yet… like I told Heero before, I don't regret it at all. Kinda pathetic isn't it, me actually liking the place that had turned my life into a never ending circle of negative emotions. Right now I was feeling the depression emotion, but was trying my best not to show it. I think Heero would get a little worried and I needed to deal with this on my own. It was time that I started to use some of that strength Heero talked about. Now if only I could find where it was hiding.

"Quatre!" I looked up to see Trowa jumping out of his seat and embracing a nervously smiling Quatre. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" Trowa asked, looking worriedly at the small blond.

"Aa… everything's fine." He turned his eyes on me quickly and nicely pushed his way out of Trowa's embrace. "Duo… can we… talk?" He seemed 'really' nervous as he asked me this. It made me feel a little better, knowing that he was feeling just as awkward as I was. Of course we could talk! I had been waiting all day for that! Ok… so I was actually dreading it all day, but I needed to work myself up somehow.

Trowa's eyes widened and he looked confusedly between me and Quatre. I shot a glance to Heero, silently pleading him as Trowa opened his mouth to say something. Jumping up from my seat I grabbed the startled Quatre's arms, leading him away from the table. Heero would take care of Trowa for me… wonder what kind of excuse he could come up with. Heh, aren't I just the greatest friend for leaving Heero in a situation like that? 

As I dragged Quatre out of the cafeteria and into one of the empty classrooms, I started to feel a little self-conscious. Here he was, standing before me and I probably looked like a big freak to him. My hair was long and in a messy braid, clothes old and worn… ugh, not a good impression to make on my little brother. 

As for him… he looked perfect, in his white blouse shirt that fit nicely. His hair, just the right length falling slightly over his ears. Yup, I was feeling 'really' self-conscious!

"I asked my parents yesterday…" His blue eyes traced the ground at our feet uncomfortably as he spoke. "I asked them if I could go visit my brothers g-grave." I felt my breath stop for a moment before he continued. "Do you know what they said?" He laughed lightly, as if finding something funny in his thoughts. But it wasn't a nice laugh, it was the kind of laugh you give when everything had gone wrong so you find the situation almost amusing.

"They said that you… that you were cremated and weren't buried!" His fists were clenched tightly and he looked up to me with watery eyes. "They lied to me… oh gods, Duo… I thought… I cant believe it. I'm still having a hard time believing it…"

I gave him a weak smile trying to give him any possible comfort. "Quatre…"

"But here you are! Standing right in front of me… and I… I went crazy after they told me… they told me you had died of pneumonia! And I believed them! I believed them… oh god, I'm so sorry!" He mumbled the last part softly, eyes looking off to the side as if ashamed.

"Why? Why would they do that?" I asked shakily, feeling the anger towards his family return full blast. I had a hard time hiding it from him, I didn't want him to think that he was the one I was mad at.

He looked up, as if trying to hold in the tears that hadn't yet fallen. "I… one time, asked them if I could go and visit you. They said no, and made it clear that I would not be able to go back. But I kept asking… At first… it was simple reasons, like… we wouldn't be able to get a plane ticket, or… they said the children of the church went on vacation… those were all lies… lies." He took a deep shaky breath, "Then… one day… when I asked once again to go v-visit… they s-said you had died!" His pale cheeks were now wet with the tears let loose, no longer able to hold them in. I was having a hard time also, after hearing what he had gone through. My heart was aching for him and I just wanted to pull him into a big hug, but… I was still a little afraid.

If someone had told me Quatre had died… I don't know what I would have done. To think, he had to suffer through the thought of me being dead… he thought… god, how horrible. I walked up to Quatre, giving up my little fears inside and threw my arms around him, tightly holding the sobbing boy. 

"It's alright. I'm fine, everything is fine." My soothing voice seemed to calm him down and he wrapped his arms around me in return, hands clinging to my shirt as if afraid I would disappear. 

"I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry. I should have… I…"

"I've missed you." I whispered softly, interrupting his little rant and bringing his face up to look at mine. He beamed, the first bright smile directed towards me in ten years.

"Duo. What… what are you doing here?" He asked pulling away and looking at me with his wide eyes. "Did you get adopted?"

I used to wish I had been… but right now I could care less. I grinned widely at him while thinking of how I should explain. Ugh… there was nothing to tell, nothing I could say. I just hope he wouldn't get mad at me. "I… I cant really tell you right now…" His big eyes looked at me, confusion filling them. "But Quatre…" My voice now held a serious tone to it, making Quatre bite his bottom lip in nervousness at my short pause. "You cant tell anyone… anyone that you're my little brother. No one can know we are related."

"Why? Duo what's going on?" I guess I should have said that differently, he looked a little frightened now.

"I'm sorry… I wish I could tell you. Please, just don't worry about it alright?" I patted his head softly and forced a smile upon my face. He looked so lost, concerned and maybe scared at what I wasn't telling him. That was the best I could do though, I didn't want to lie to him and tell him I was adopted, it wouldn't be fair. He had been lied to enough as it was. "So lil bro… You wanna tell me about you and Trowa?" I smirked, trying to change the subject and get his mind far from my problems. 

He turned bright red, making me chuckle as I rubbed my hand through his hair. I felt full of energy for some reason, the tiredness I was feeling today had disappeared. Probably because of my excitement and happiness of finally being with Quatre. Excitement is a wonderful substitute for caffeine, ne?

He hadn't forgotten me. Quatre had remembered me. If I ever saw the people that adopted him though, I would really give them a piece of my mind. Maybe a black eye or two also. Heh… that would get me in jail for sure. Well, I always have Kemp to bail me out if the need arises. He would be pissed off as hell though… hmmm, a pissed off Kemp, that just might be worth seeing!

We walked back into the cafeteria, Quatre's eyes still a little red but it wasn't that noticeable unless you were 'really' looking. That's what made me worry though, Trowa would definitely be looking. And what do you think he would do to me if he found out I made his boyfriend cry? Eek… I don't even want to think about it. Like Heero had told me, Trowa gets jealous… and he's probably already pissed off at me for walking off with Quatre.

Yup, definitely pissed. As we came to the table, Trowa jumped up immediately checking if Quatre was alright. I felt happy knowing that my little brother had someone looking out for him, but as Trowa glared at me, I felt a little annoyed. Ugh, I would never be able to talk to Quatre again!

Heero was looking worriedly at me from his spot at the table making me feel a little warm inside. He was really not cold at all, well to me at least. I haven't seen him smile at anyone but me, or even talk as much to anyone but me. I smiled at him and nodded, silently confirming that everything was now ok. As I turned my head away, I could hear a soft sigh escape his lips. Heh, probably in relief. Who knew Heero was such a worrier! 

I really wanted to finish my lunch, I've never been so hungry before coming to this city! Well, I would have liked to have eaten, but I just 'had' to glance up from my food for a second. Across the table green eyes flared angrily at me. 'Gulp'… Trowa looked ready to kill. I've never seen him so mad! And all because Quatre just happened to be staring at me! He was smiling merrily while looking at me with his bright eyes. Trowa was obviously getting the wrong impression… ugh! And guess who else joined in Trowa's fun o glares? Heero, at seeing Trowa looking at me angrily, started glaring at the banged boy! 

An evil triangle of staring!

My fork dropped and I looked up to the ceiling with a loud sigh. There was no way I could eat when someone was watching me 'that' closely! I turned my eyes to Trowa, looking at him in annoyance. "What?" He seemed startled for a second as I asked this, before looking onto the table with gloomy eyes. 

Quatre seemed to finally realize his boyfriends distress and pulled him up from the table, mouthing the words 'I'll take care of him' to me before walking off with a confused Trowa.

"What is GOING ON?" Wufei asked loudly after they were a good distance away. His hands were clutching his chopsticks tightly as he looked at me angrily. Jeez! How many more people want to be mad at me today?

"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked him, hoping he was talking about something else. Well, I knew what he was talking about, I just wanted to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. Then Maybe it would go away from his curious little mind.

"Maxwell… you know what I mean." I mentally groaned. Now what? I couldn't lie to him, I sucked at it!

"Duo met Quatre a year ago, they were just… catching up." My startled gaze fell on Heero who was sitting there giving Wufei a look that just dared him to question what he had just said.

Obviously, Heero didn't have a problem lying.

Wufei gave Heero a puzzled look, confused as to how 'he' had known. "And just where did they meet?"

"At a funeral. That's why Quatre's eyes were red, he was probably remembering." I gapped at Heero as he said this. Damn, he was good!

"They met at a funeral!?" Wufei yelled, a little shocked I guess. Yeah, it sounded weird to me too, and I was supposedly 'at' this funeral. How the hell do you meet people at funerals? Its not meant to be a social gathering… gah! Why am I even trying to figure that out! I really need to stop over analyzing things! 

"Yeah, they met when they both went up to look into the casket." Heero said with a straight face. Not that he wouldn't have a serious expression on, but it was still pretty shocking that he could lie so well. 

I chuckled just as Wufei yelled, "NANI?! That's crazy!"

"Rani? What's rani?" I asked, once again confused about the weird language Wufei had sputtered.

Heero smirked. "Raja's wives are called Rani's."

"Eh? Did Wufei call me his wife?" And what the hell is a Raja?

"MAXWELL! What the hell are you talking about!?" Wufei's face went beat red.

Whoops, I must have pronounced it wrong.

TBC.

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Yatta! I got that chapter up on schedule! It's was a long one, ne? Hope you liked, please tell me what you thought! And thank you sooo much for the reviews!! 

oh and a Raja's some sort of Indian prince… heh, I had a little too much fun with the dictionary for this chapter.


	11. Stage Hall

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Yaoi, angst.

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Hall

"I don't want toooooo!" I whimpered as Heero dragged me down the street. "Heero! We can go later! Ne? Ne?" I whined as I saw the police station come into view. After school I was feeling a lot better compared to earlier before, when my emotion of the day was depression slash stress. The police station was not on my favorite things to do list, I 'sooo' did not want any bad news to spoil my mood. But, no, Heero just had to drag me the ten block walk and now here we were standing in front of the red brick building.

"You said you were going today, so you should go today." He stated, pushing me towards the entrance. 

Great, well I had no choice now. I glanced one last time at Heero who was lounging on a bench outside, grr, stupid Heero. Though it was kinda nice of him to make sure I went. Knowing me, I probably would have held it off for a couple of days. 

Inside it was pretty busy, people being directed here and there. Walking through the crowd I made my way towards someone whom I assumed was a secretary and asked her if I could see Kemp. She just looked at me weird and said some three digit door number. Her eyes were transfixed on my braid as I walked by. I was already used to people giving it weird looks so I just smiled at her widely before turning around making sure my braid swung high.

As I searched the back hall, I noticed that there were pictures hanging up of old and new officers. Walking further, I came upon one with Kemp in it. He was probably around his early twenties when the photo was taken, he stood next to some man whom had his arm slung carelessly over his shoulder.

The cool thing though, was that Kemp wasn't wearing his sunglasses! His bright green eyes stared happily at the camera. Man… why does he cover them up? His eyes were beautiful! Well, I could think of a few people whose eyes were better…. preferably a person sitting outside right now… cough. 

Finally, I came to the right door, a window right next to it showed Kemp sitting behind a small desk going through piles of paperwork. He looked up as I walked in, jumping to his feet quickly when realizing it was me. "Duo!" He said, "Where've ya been? Every time I went to your apartment you were out!"

I grinned sheepishly at him before plopping down onto a spare chair. "Sorry, sorry… I've been pretty busy." Heh, yeah, a little too busy. He chuckled at me before sitting back down in his big black chair. "So, whadya want me here for?" I asked, feeling a little uneasy all of a sudden.

He sighed, leaning back in his chair, hands absently playing with his shirt collar. "Duo…" He bit his bottom lip in nervousness, obviously having a hard time getting out what he wanted to tell me. I knew I wasn't going to like it. "We found a lead." He said, successfully making my eyes bulge widely.

"You mean… you know where Hall is?" I asked excitedly.

He lowered his head, "Well… I guess I should tell you the details." Leaning over, he pulled out a file from one of the desk drawers, opening it up to peer at the contents. "About three days ago there was a report of a stolen car. Witnesses description of the thief was similar to that of Hall Phelps, your father." By the serious tone in his voice I knew he was working me up for the bad news. "Yesterday… there was a report of an abandoned car similar to that of what had been stolen."

He paused for a while as if afraid to continue. "And?" I asked impatiently.

"The car was found twenty miles out of town." My mouth dropped open and I stared at him in mute horror. "We sent someone out there to investigate, we'll find out if it was the same vehicle stolen sometime today." 

So… there was still a chance that it was a different vehicle… and that it wasn't Hall who stole it… but still… twenty miles out of town! The orphanage was a good three hundred some miles away… there was no way that he would… travel all this way… but…

"Duo…" Kemp was looking at me, worry spread across his features. "We wont know for sure until we get the results… so don't worry about it until then, alright?" 

Yeah, sure, like that would be possible. I just knew my day was going to be ruined! 

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About ten minutes later I found myself back outside the police station, standing over a sleeping Heero. His head was tilted to the side, leaning on his arm that was propped up on the bench. He looked so funny, and I really didn't want to wake him up… hmm maybe I could have some fun with him. 

Poke… I pushed my finger against his cheek lightly. He didn't stir at all. Hmm… weird. Taking my hand I pressed it against his soft cold cheek. Eek, he must be getting cold sitting out here in the chilly wind. The rain had stopped earlier in the morning, but the clouds were still filling the sky with their gloominess. 

Taking both of my hands I pressed them to the sides of his chilled cheeks, trying to warm them up. He still didn't move. Hands still touching the sides of his face, I moved in to be eye level with him. "Heero…" I whispered, face now only a couple inches from his. Heh, maybe I could scare him. Taking my lip I pulled half into my mouth and stuck out the other in a weird angle. My eyes crossed and I scrunched up my nose in attempt to make a weird face. "HMPHA!" I mumbled between my slightly parted lips. 

Heero's eyes snapped open and the next thing I knew I was on my back with his arm wrapped around my neck. Wow, that was a rush. My loud laugh filled the outside silence as Heero glared angrily at me. 

"S-sorry Heero man… Just wanted to scare ya a little." I spit out, still trying to calm down from my giggle fit.

He growled slightly before taking my hand to help me to my feet. "What did they say?" He asked as we started the long walk home.

I groaned as I thought back to the discussion Kemp and I had. I really didn't want to tell Heero… I don't think he would be thrilled to hear that I might have to move… soon. 

Avoiding his gaze, I walked in silence, my thoughts occupied on what I was going to say to Heero.

"Umm, Well you see…" I paused for a while, still not sure of what to tell him.

"Spit it out Duo." He said sharply, looking at me sternly. 

I sighed… Heero was one damn curious person! "I… they… just found some information on Hall… and its not really good information."

He looked at me funny, seeing that I was avoiding what was 'really' going on. "You don't want to tell me." He said. He was giving me a way out and that just kinda made the tables turn. Since he had stated that I didn't want to tell him… it kinda made me want to tell him and show him that I 'did' want to tell him. Yes, I am a very confusing person sometimes. 

"They think that Hall… might be near." I said, mumbling the words a little so that there was a chance he wouldn't hear me.

He stopped walking, making me look back to see him, eyes staring down at the pavement. "Are you going to have to leave?" He asked, his face held a weird expression and his voice sounded a little… worried. 

"I don't know really… Kemp said they'll find out soon… if it is serious…"

He started walking again, silently keeping a few feet in front of me, all I could see was his back, shacking slightly as he picked up his pace. 

"Heero… slow down!" I yelled, speeding my legs up. "Heero!" He was now fully running, trying to get away from me. Why? What was wrong? I must have said something stupid again.

My legs carried me quickly after him but he was way ahead of me now and there was no way I would be able to catch up. Out of breath, I finally stopped. Eyes closed, hands on chest as I breathed heavily. Why did he run from me? I could feel a pain in my chest as I thought of him being mad at me. Was he angry because I might have to leave? God… why did I ever tell him? It could have just been some stupid fluke and Hall could be found somewhere else. Kemp didn't exactly 'say' that I would have to leave because of this… Agh… who am I kidding… if it is Hall… if the car matches the description… I'll be gone.

Heero… maybe he's mad because… because he doesn't want me to leave. He said so himself… he… he might be sad to see me go. I don't know what I would do… having to leave him would be hard. Why had I never thought about it until now? I don't know what I would do without him… he's helped me so much this past week… when did I become so dependant on him? When did I always want to be around him and… why?

Sighing, I sat down on the sidewalk curb. My rasp breath could be seen in the cool evenings air. Sitting there, cursing myself for being stupid, I didn't even notice the pink car that pulled up until a blond head poked out of the window.

"Duo! What are you doing out here?" I looked up to see Relena's head, slanted slightly to the side as she questioned me. Her blond eyebrows were arched up slightly in surprise. 

Looking around the streets I noticed that… I didn't recognize anything! In other words, I was probably lost. "Eh… I don't really know… I just kinda wandered over here." I explained, watching her as she stepped out of the passenger side door. 

"Well, I just cant leave you here… come along." She said while gesturing for me to get into the car. She made me feel like a dog, obeying it's masters command. What's worse is I didn't complain, just followed her orders like some stupid mutt. Well, it didn't look like I had much choice since I was lost, plus it was better than freezing out here in the cold. 

As I hopped into the hideous colored car, I noticed a formal looking man sitting in the drivers seat. He didn't even look my way as I entered which gave me the impression that he probably wasn't her parent. Did she actually have her own chauffer? Well, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised. She was, after all, one of the richest people at our school.

"However did you manage to get here? This is a bad part of town, you know." I looked out the window, trying to find the 'bad' part of this section of the huge city. To me, it didn't look one bit like she had said. Bad, no way! There was barely any litter, no bums sitting on street corners… obviously Relena hasn't been to a slums neighborhood.

"Hmmm." That was the only thing I could think of to say, not that she was paying attention, nope, she was in her own little world talking to herself. 

"I was worried about you… you didn't show up to yesterday's meeting!" She smiled at me prettily as she said this. 

Meeting? What meeting? Hmmm.. think… think… oh yeah. The prom squadron. Oh well, didn't miss anything big there. Wasn't she suppose to be mad at me for not coming? She looked like she was happy I didn't go… despite her words. "Sorry, sorry… I've been a little… exhausted lately." Emotionally exhausted actually.

She actually 'almost' looked concerned for a moment before saying, "Oh that's alright, come to the one tomorrow morning. Oh! I have an idea! Why don't you come with me shopping! That always makes me feel better!" 

Oh god no. Did exhaustion mean anything to her?

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An hour later found me walking too slowly through my apartment door. Arms soar, feet blistered and killing me, I limped over to my sofa. Mentally cursing myself for having such a hard time saying 'no'! That's all I had to say and I wouldn't have had to carry bag after bag of… ugh! Junk! I mean really, what does someone need a feather, fluffy lamp for? Isn't that a fire hazard? 

I rubbed my hands against my temples, trying to will away my headache… Relena really can talk a lot when she's excited. Kinda makes me feel sorry for the people who have to listen to me blab on and on about stuff. Hmm… Maybe the God up there was giving me a piece of my own medicine. 

Groaning loudly, I laid myself down and flipped on the television. I was just about to fall into a nice welcomed sleep, when the phone rang. My legs limped me over to the counter so I could answer. Maybe it was Heero? I turned it on fast and gave a quick 'hello?'

It was Kemp. Who else would it be? Shouldn't have gotten my hopes so high. Heero doesn't even know my phone number. Well… I take that back, he knows everything about me. And if he wants to know more, he can just look it up like the cool little computer nerd he is.

"Listen Duo, we got the results back about the car." Kemp said quickly, it sounded as if he was rushing. "It was the same car, and there was another sighting of Hall in a town five miles away." The phone almost fell from my limp fingers after he said this. My mind supplied only one word, shit.

"Duo? Duo are you alright?" He asked, worry lining his voice.

"Aa… just peachy." Actually I was just the opposite but I didn't want to say that. 

Kemp hung up shortly after saying something about being busy and he would contact me soon. I wasn't paying attention to any of the other things he told me. I felt to numb to listen. To in shock, once again. How the hell did Hall find me so fast? 

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The next day at school I didn't see Heero anywhere. I had looked through the halls first hour and second, looking for that mop of brown hair. I wished I could hack into the school system like Heero does and get his schedule. But, sadly, I did not come equipped with that skill. I really wanted to talk to him, to tell him about my bad news. Although, it would probably make him hate me. 

Second hour had Relena questioning me worriedly, because I didn't show up for her meeting 'again'. Hmm… I wonder why I keep forgetting.

"Well, that's alright… here, I'll give you my address so you can come over on Saturday for our next meeting." Relena had said while shoving a piece of paper in my hand. I was a little confused as to why she kept wanting me to come. I mean, I've already missed two of her so called gatherings, shouldn't she have given up on me by now?

Quatre sat with us during lunch, but I didn't really get to talk to him much because of the Trowa monster sitting between him and me. Argh, why did my little brother have to go and get himself a boyfriend? It makes everything harder, ya know? 

Luckily, I spotted him in the hallway on the way to my last class of the day.

"Duo!" The small blond greeted me with a big smile as I walked up to him. 

"Hey Quat! How ya doin?" Falling into step beside him, we made out way through the mass of students.

"Duo… I'm sorry about Trowa… he just kinda…" His lip was pulled in, bitten by his teeth in nervousness.

"Don't worry about it, I know he is just probably worried." Big blue eyes looked at me in relief.

"I was worried you were gonna be mad." He admitted softly. A small smile played on his lips as he looked at me through the corner of his eyes. He was happy having me here, being able to talk to me again after so long, and I was thrilled that he accepted me so easily back into his life. 

Smirking, I winked at him and said, "You're going to have to tell me how you and Tro met sometime." A blush appeared on his cheeks causing me to laugh out loud. "What? Is it that bad?" My teasing seemed to make it worse and now even his ears were red.

"You doing anything on Sunday?" He asked me, looking up at me with pleading eyes. How could I refuse? Well, its not like I was doing anything, I'm not one on planning my weekend out.

I agreed to meet him at a little restaurant that was supposedly a block away from where I lived. Hopefully I wouldn't get lost. Maybe Heero would come… oh, I forgot that he had disappeared off the face of the city. I wonder where he is hiding? 

Gah! When I find him I am going to put a leash on him! Ugh… now I sound like some snobby girlfriend. When did I start worrying about where Heero was? Maybe it's because he always so hard to find. 

Sighing, I ran my hand through my tangled bangs. I really wanted to see Heero… I missed him already. How did I come to feel so strongly about him? The thought of him hurting inside makes me want to scream. I hate it… hate this painful feeling that comes out when I think of him like that. Its all because of me, he's angry at me… I made him like that. 

All I wanted to do was to fix it. But I didn't know how.

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Saturday rolled around and I had nothing to do, so I ended up at the bus station. Rather than sitting home and moping about Heero, I decided that going to Relena's… whatever it is, would be better. It might be nice getting to go into a huge mansion. Maybe I could get lost and go explore. 

The bus ride was short and before I knew it I was walking down a familiar street. Though I wouldn't be able to tell you why it looked so familiar. Something about it stuck out… and then it hit me…

As I stood in front of the address given I noticed that pink mailbox. That was the same mail box that I passed on the way to Heero's! Which meant that his house was near!

Walking down a little further I finally spotted the gloomy building called a home. The creepy looking door came into view as I walked into the yard. Yup, this place still gives me the creeps! My hand came up and I hesitantly lifted the little gargoyle door knocker. Would I be able to see Heero? Would they even let me in? I could feel my palms sweating as I waited for someone to answer the door. It came about a minute later, the door flew open to reveal a chubby maid dressed in all black. Well of course she was dressed in black… what else would anyone here wear?

"What can I do for you?" She asked coldly. It was supposed to be a nice greeting, but it sounded more of a warning to get the hell out of there before she called the police.

Summoning up any amount of my courage I said, "I'm here to see… Heero."

Her eyes widened slightly before a scowl appeared on her face. "There is no one by that name here." The door started to close and I felt an little panicked. I needed to see Heero! They were going to let me see him!

"Don't lie to me." I stated coolly. She had pissed me off with her last statement, so I was able to get my voice to sound somewhat demanding. The nervousness I was feeling was overruled by the anger the woman was making me feel. How dare she act like he doesn't exist! This is his house, his money! Don't they know that?

She seemed flustered as I stared at her coldly, then opened the door for me to enter. "Last door on the left hallway." She said before disappearing into one of the doors, slamming it behind her. 

I was left alone in the creepy corridor, my fears returning. Quickly, I made my way through the dim lighted hallway and to the door I remembered as Heero's. I only hoped he was down there. 

Softly, I opened the door and peered down the cramped looking stairwell.

Shit… I had to go down that! Last time was bad enough, and I even had Heero with me. Taking a deep breath, I started the decent down, feeling my arms shaking as they grabbed onto the railing. It seemed to take forever to get down, probably because I was going at a snail pace. 

By the time I reached the last step I was shivering and my eyes were widely staring into the darkness. I was scared, my hands were clutched too tightly on the rail, but the thought of seeing Heero is what got me to keep on going. 

Heero's room was dark, the only thing I could see was the glow of a computer screen from across the room. I stood in place for awhile, wanting to calm myself before I figured out if he was there. As my eyes adjusted to the rooms little light, I was able to see a figure sitting in front of the computer. Head tilted back, face to the ceiling, he looked asleep. His arms were hanging limply to his sides, illuminated by the soft glow of the computer.

Closing the distance, I stood not more than a foot from him, admiring his sleeping figure. I would have shaken him awake, but I learned my lesson last time when I scared him, so instead I softly called out his name. 

"Duo?!" His head snapped up and he quickly looked in my direction. Eyes boring into me in surprise. He was on his feet quicker than I thought possible and standing before me with an outstretched hand. His fingers traced my cheek lightly, as if confirming that I was real, and not some illusion. "What are you doing here?" He asked, withdrawing his hand quickly, confusion set in his eyes.

"I… you… weren't at school… I was worried." I said. My eyes filling with sadness as he glared at me with a cold look on his face. He walked over, switching on a lamp and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Heero?" I asked, taking a step closer to him.

"What does it matter?" His emotionless voice sent a twinge of pain through my heart and I flinched at what he said next. "Your leaving soon anyway." The words were spit out so hatefully that it made me cringe and take a step back.

I couldn't hold back the sob that escaped my lips. I shouldn't have come here! Heero was… he was so angry. He didn't seem like the same person… because of the stupid police making me leave when there is trouble. I didn't mean to make him mad by having to move! I didn't want to go! I wanted to stay here… with Heero. 

Who would be there to look out for me in my new home? Who would be there to warm me up when it is raining? To make me feel better on bad days? I couldn't stay here! And now I had pissed off the one person I needed right now! 

This feeling… it hurts.

Heero stared at me as tears filled my eyes. God, I didn't want him to see me like this again. Why is it I always break down? I needed to be strong… but the thought of leaving Heero was too much for me. 

"Heero… I'm sorry… I'm sor-ry. I cant, I don't want to… please don't be mad at me!" I looked up to the ceiling trying to hold my tears in so they would not spill. I could not cry… I would not cry…

I felt Heero approach me, silently pushing down at my chin so I would face him. His dark eyes no longer held their anger, they now looked painfully sad. Had I made him this way? Was I responsible for hurting him like this? Maybe he regrets ever meeting me… ever opening up enough to be hurt… and I might have to leave him. The thought was horrible enough, how would 'actually' leaving feel?

"I'm sorry." I sniffled, hand wiping at my eyes. 

"No…" He leaned towards me and a small sad smile appeared on his face. Shocking me enough to make me freeze up where I stood. "I'm sorry Duo… I knew you might have to go… but I got… attached, anyway."

My eyes widened slightly as he moved forward, his face only and inch from mine. "Heero…" I whispered softly, he cut off my words by pressing his lips firmly against mine. My breath stopped and I froze in place, trying to comprehend what was happening. Heero was… why was he… what was he doing? Heero didn't… did he… like me like that? When did he start to? Why hadn't I noticed? 

He pulled away slowly, looking at my stunned face with sad eyes. "I got too attached." The pain coming from his voice sent me back into reality. My violet eyes looked up to him with something like astonishment. I was amazed at what had just happened. My hand found its way up to gently press where his lips had been. Feeling the loss of Heero's warmth that had once been against me. 

"Why… when…" Too many questions filled my mind and I couldn't figure out which ones to ask first.

He turned away, shoulders slumping as he attempted to walk towards the couch. My hand shot out, surprising even me, I clutched the edge of Heero's shirt desperately looking at him. My eyes searched for some answers to my questions, maybe something to give me an answer to what I was feeling. But all I could see was the pain flickering within him. The hurt caused from looking at me.

My hands clutched tighter and I pulled him close to me, wrapping my arms around him in a desperate embrace. 

"I don't want to leave you." I whispered softly into his ear. A shiver ran through his body as my breath tickled his skin. His strong arms came up and wrapped themselves around me in return. Holding me tightly. Giving me the comfort I had learned to love.

"Then don't leave." He pleaded, burying his head into my hair.

I sighed, and pulled away to look up at him, eyes filling once again with tears. "I cant… I have no choice… and Hall is still somewhere… I'm sorry."

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I am soooo tired!!!!! Packing and unpacking sucks! I hate it! And trying to get a chapter out was also hard… agh exhaustion! Well, hope you didn't hate me too much for this chapter… please tell me what you thought of it! 

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	12. Stage Break

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Yaoi, angst. yaoi yaoi ummm yeah.

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Break

"I'm sorry." As I said those words… those words that concluded that I would actually leave, Heero's face went blank. Emotionless, his barrier from pain, took over and he pulled out of my arms with an empty expression on his face. I think that was Heero's way of dealing with things, to shut them out and act like he didn't care. He was looking at me with his cold eyes again, the eyes that I had learned to hate so much… anger started to well inside of me. I felt my arms starting to shake trying to suppress the rage caused from his actions. Only a moment more and it burst free. 

My hand shot out and slapped him hard on the cheek. A red mark appeared from my sting and he looked to me with wide scared eyes. Scared because I was looking at him furiously. My voice was harsh as I said the words that were circling in my mind. "Don't shut me out! Stop hiding from me! If you need to cry, cry! Don't hold it in with all your other problems!" My strict voice turned to pleading and I brushed my hand over the angry mark on his cheek, causing him to wince slightly. "Please Heero… don't hide from me." I repeated softly.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. I think I was getting to him. It's not like I wanted him to cry… it's just that he had been holding all of his emotions in for too long. Sometimes you just need to let go. Need to trust someone other than yourself. After all he has been through… after all his pain… he has had no one. And I wanted to do everything I could to soothe him, if only he would let me.

"Duo…" His shoulders started to shake again, kinda like the day he ran away from me…. the day he became frightened that I would leave. His dark blue eyes opened to look at me and I had to hold back the gasp that escaped as his face twisted to show his misery. His arms reached out to cling to me and I gladly embraced him. Trying to soothe, to stop the shaking, trying to make him feel the way I had when he was there for me, safe, warm… all those I wanted to give to him. 

I don't know when I started feeling like this towards the once cold hearted boy, who had such a hard time showing his feelings. The boy who always seemed to catch me when I fell into my pits of depression. But after he kissed me, he showed me his feelings through a simple touch… my body went through something almost like a shiver of excitement and I felt my heart flutter inside my chest, I felt loved. Something I had been longing for without realizing it at first. 

But how would I be able to tell him that I cared about him so deeply? With me leaving… I wouldn't be able to explore more into these new feelings. They can not grow… only fade, right? I didn't want that! I didn't want to stop my feelings for him just because of distance. But… would he forget about me if I left? Would he find someone else… like Relena to take comfort in? 

What exactly are his feelings for me? Does he see me as I do him? Or is it just because we are similar in both having tough childhoods? Gah! He's standing here… holding me like I am going to disappear any minute and I am contemplating whether he 'really' likes me or if it is just a phase! I really need to stop thinking so much.

My mouth opened to speak but all I could do was whimper slightly when feeling Heero's rapid breath. He was hurting inside… he was hurting because of me.

"H-Heero…" My voice was just a whisper and I held my head close to his ear as I spoke. "Heero talk to me." I wanted him to tell me what he was feeling… why he was sad… all the things that were building up inside of him. I needed to help him, otherwise I might never feel alright leaving. Not that I would feel good leaving anyway.

"Duo… I… I need you here. I want you to stay." His eyes looked up to me, pleading with me wordlessly. How could I answer him? He knew I had to leave when things got rough… 'I' knew I had to leave. 

I said the only thing I could… in hopes that he would stop looking at me like a lost child, scared that I will disappear and never come back. "When this is all over… I'm gonna come back here, I promise." 

Leaning forward, I pressed my lips lightly to his. Only a feather touch, barely noticeable, waiting to see if he would respond back. Heero leaned forward, pushing our lips together tightly, causing my eyes to drift shut in delight of the simple delicate kiss. My hand came instinctively up to wrap in his hair, pulling him closer as our mouths opened to explore. 

I shivered again as our kiss deepened, making me fluster with need. I never wanted to stop but the call for air pulled us apart. My wobbly head leaned on his shoulder as I took deep breaths. I could feel my heart pounding loudly inside of my chest, or maybe it was Heero's heart I was hearing. Whatever the sound was it was comforting. Like a gentle beat that confirms we were still here, still alive and together.

Wordlessly, Heero picked me up and carried me to his bed, pulling the covers over me before climbing in beside me. His arms wrapped around me and his head fell to my chest, using me as a pillow. I couldn't help but smile as I felt him move close to me, making no space between us. His eyes drifted up to me and he smiled. It was so rare to see him actually smiling like that, out of happiness, the feelings I made him feel. 

The warmth of his body next to mine was soothing, and I found myself getting tired. Heero probably was just as exhausted for his eyes were closing slowly as the silent minutes dragged on.

I could stay like this, with him, forever. I knew it wouldn't last, but for right now, I just wanted to enjoy the feeling of cuddling up next to him. My hand drifted to caress through his hair, eyes shutting I petted him until darkness claimed me.

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The sun would have woken me up on the nice Sunday morning it was… but Heero's room didn't have windows, so instead the nice little lamp, he had left on the night before, awoke me from my nice slumber. I couldn't tell what time it was, so I ended up falling out of bed in attempt to look at Heero's computer clock. Well, I didn't really fall out alone. Heero was wrapped in the blanket with me and I ended up pushing him off the bed and falling on top of him. The hard floor meeting his back with a loud 'thud'.

He gave a big 'oof' of exhaled air, before glaring at me for waking him up. "Morning Heeeeero!" I chirped while attempting to pull my body out of the warm cocoon we were wrapped in. 

Heero obviously had other plans and he clasped his arms around me, pulling me in for a quick peck on the lips. He was smiling again as he held onto my waist, preventing me from moving. I tried to glare at him, but my mouth was stretched so wide into a smile that it wouldn't work. How could I act mad when feeling this good in the morning? And usually I wasn't a morning person, guess we went to bed pretty early last night… hmmm… about that clock… 

"Heero… what time is it?" I asked, maybe he had a watch on, who knows?

He glanced over at the computer that had a weird screen saver of… dancing monkey's? What the? "Computer. Time." Heero said loudly.

"Ninth hour. Five past." The computer chimed in a weird female voice. I just stared at the screen saver blankly. Did the computer just talk? Weird!

"What's with the girly voice?" I asked, looking at a smirking Heero, obviously amused at my confusion. 

"That's actually my voice." He said, in that serious 'I'm not kidding' tone.

My eyes widened and I stared at the white box in disbelief. "That's not your voice! Unless you can make voice impressions." The thought of Heero doing an impression of a some girl was too funny and I giggled slightly, climbing out of Heero's now loose grip.

"Baka… I copied my voice onto the computer before changing it. I could even make my voice sound old if I wanted to." His answer had me grinning from ear to ear thinking of all the fun stuff he could do with his computer. 

"So… if you were a girl… that's what your voice would sound like?" I sat down on his computer chair, looking up to see Heero rolling his eyes at me.

"I would not have been a girl, that is not possible." 

"I said 'If'" My arms crossed and I was finally able to glare at him without cracking a smile.

"It still isn't possible… I would not be me if it was a girl." He said, pushing past me to do something on the computer. He was leaning over me since I was sitting in his chair so I decided I'd be nice and make things easy on him…

"Show me." I said while grabbing his hand, pulling him to sit on my lap. He seemed a little startled at first, but soon leaned back against me and continued to open some random programs. My face moved forward and I nuzzled the side of his neck causing him to gasp and shiver as I breathed in his scent. He smelled so good and I was satisfied just sitting there, eyes closed, chin resting on his shoulder as he worked. 

We stayed at his house, playing on his computer until about noon, I would know since I had made his computer speak the time at least twenty or so times. I was supposed to meet Quatre in an hour so we decided that we had better get started… I wasn't all that sure if I could find the restaurant we were to meet at without getting lost. 

We passed by Relena's pink mailbox, causing me to stop and stare at it in question. I remembered that I was suppose to do something with her… but what was it? Wasn't I going over to her house for something? Gah… I guess it wasn't important if I had forgotten it. 

The bus trip went by pretty fast, Heero kept looking at me, lips curled up slightly as I pointed to random pointless things outside the window. Yup, everything was back to normal… well they were a little better than normal. Yes, yes… much better.

We ended up finding the small restaurant only a block down the street from where I lived. Quatre was waiting for us already sitting at a table. His eyebrow shot up as he saw Heero was with me, but he didn't question it. All he asked was if Heero knew about us… well he should have already figured that one out since Heero had witnessed our first 'actual' meeting in the freezing cold locker room.

I sat across from him with Heero to my side. It was really easy with Quatre, he was just as talkative as I was. Currently he was telling me how he and Trowa ended up together. I had been really curious to know, and when I brought it up for the second time Quatre had turned into a red tomato again. Turns out, Quatre met Trowa at an art fair… where he accidentally spilled paint all over Trowa's work. 

By the time he was finished with his story I was rolling on the floor laughing only making Quatre glare at me. Heero seemed to be still trying to get used to the idea that me and Quatre being related. He hadn't really talked the whole time, but listened with a small look of amusement. 

Trowa had apparently laughed instead of getting angry at him for ruining his work. I was a little confused when Quatre was explaining that… Trowa's laugh being so weird and all. Its hard to tell he is laughing sometimes. Anyway, the rest of the story included banged boy and blondy here seeing each other at school. They had hung out and… he would tell me any of the gushy details!

"So when did he first kiss you?" I had asked.

Quatre blushed and looked down.

"Where did you go on your first date?"

Blush… look down.

"What's he talk to you about? Does he tell you your beautiful and have great eyes?" I teased, seeing his uneasy state.

Burning red, shoulders starting to slump towards the table in embarrassment.

"So have you had s-?"

Quatre ducked under the table and yelled. "Duo! Stop it!"

I laughed loudly while clutching Heero's shoulder. He just snorted and took my hand off, placing it in his under the table. His eyes showed his amusement as he watched me tease my little cute brother. He seemed to be in a better mood, probably because we were out, keeping our minds occupied on other things. I guess I spaced out while staring into Heero's eyes because the next thing I heard was Quatre clearing his throat.

My cheeks grew a little hot as I looked over to him, a little embarrassed for being caught. His light eyebrows were raised slightly and he was grinning wickedly at me. "So… what's with you and Heero?" He asked, smile growing wide as my face grew as bright as his had been moments before.

A quick glance in Heero's direction told me that he was fine, he didn't even seem to be bothered by Quatre's teasing. I smiled before changing the subject… I shouldn't have been embarrassed, after all, Heero wasn't. I guess I was just still too new to this whole thing.

Sure, I've dated before… but they've all been girls, and Heero wasn't at all like them. I was serious about Heero… which was a first for me… I actually cared what he thought, cared what he was feeling. Wanted him to be happy… isn't that what good relationships are suppose to be like? Non selfish. Make sacrifices. There was so much that I didn't know, and I was a little scared but at the same time excited about my future… that is, if I had one at all with Heero.

My thoughts drifted to me having to leave, it made me feel a little depressed for a moment, before I was brought back to reality by Quatre's sweet voice. He was so happy… and I was going to leave soon. Should I tell him… I have to, but I don't want to make him sad. I don't want to hurt him. Mentally I sighed, thinking of how I should go about saying this.

He was talking animatedly now, about one of his sisters and there big mean cat. Arms waving back and forth as he described how the cat had jumped on some ladies head. His eyes brightened with his laughter, and I couldn't help but feel down.

I was going to miss him. It had only been a couple days since we finally were able to talk to each other… only a week and a half since I had first seen him. 

I only hoped that Hall would be found so I could come back here quickly. I could only pray to the god I didn't know if I believed in. Pray that everything would turn out alright. Though I was probably asking too much.

We ended up talking for a good two hours before Quatre said he had to go. I knew I had to tell him, but I still didn't know how. Why did words always fail me in situations like this. I could talk about pointless stuff for hours, but I could figure out how to say one simple 'goodbye, I'm leaving.'

Squeezing Heero's hand tightly, I found my voice. "Quatre…" I took a deep breath, finding the courage from Heero's presence, I said, "I… am moving." He dropped the napkin he was using and stared at me in disbelief. "I don't know when I'll be going… but I cant stay here any longer." 

"Why?! Duo where will you go? What do you mean you cant stay here any longer?" His voice shook slightly and his eyes filled with worry. I knew this was going to be hard. 

"I… I'm sorry." It seemed like I was apologizing a lot today, and it wasn't even my fault!

"Why?" He asked again… hands clutched tightly into little fists on the table top. 

He probably knew what I was going to say, but I guess he was hoping I would actually tell him something, anything. I only disappointed him as I said, "I cant tell you."

"Where are you going? Your going to come back aren't you?" He pleaded.

"I'm definitely coming back… I just don't know when." I know he was probably feeling confused as hell… heh, just like Heero was feeling when I wouldn't tell him anything. But there was nothing I could do… I didn't want to tell him… it would scare him. I would confess when the whole ordeal is gone and done with. If that ever happens.

Quatre left soon after that, with a shaky goodbye and a long hug. I told him I might be in school tomorrow, which made him brighten up a little. I wanted at least one more school day in this town… to be able to say goodbye properly to everyone. 

Hilde would probably be pissed if she didn't get to see me off. *Sigh*… this was going to be hard.

"So what should we do now?" I asked Heero as we walked along the streets with no destination in mind. He just shrugged while kicking a rock into the busy street.

He seemed to be deep in thought, and as the minutes grew I could tell that he was not happy. His eyes were downcast as we walked through the streets to my apartment. I didn't have to ask what was wrong, I already knew… and I wished I could change it. 

As we stepped into my dark apartment, the first thing I noticed was the note sitting on the kitchen counter. I kinda just stared at it for a minute, trying to get up the courage to actually read it. I knew it was from Kemp, I just didn't know what was going to be said in it… good or bad. 

Walking over to it, I quickly grabbed the piece of paper and read it before Heero would notice. It would be bad if he found out something before me… he likes to run away. Agh, well so do I, don't we make the greatest pair? 

As my eyes scanned down to the last line, I felt myself slump in disappointment. Kemp wanted to leave on Tuesday, only one day to say goodbye, only one more day with Heero. The paper ripped nicely between my fingers and I dropped it into the trash can quickly. Heero narrowed his eyes slightly at seeing my weird behavior. 

"What did it say?" He asked, walking up to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. I couldn't bring my eyes to look at him as I told him what was written in the note. He just sort of stood there for a while, trying to process what I had just said, before gathering me up in his arms. He just silently held me for what seemed like forever. His soft breath was blowing lightly on my hair and I closed my eyes tightly trying to savor the feel of his arms around me. 

I could feel him starting to move now, and he pulled me over to sit on the sofa, drawing me tightly against his chest. I fell asleep… clinging to his arms, dreading the morning that was to come, and the last full day I would be able to stay here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heero and I never separated the whole of the next morning, not until the bell rang at school signaling our first class. Even then, I was reluctant to leave, but he just smiled and pushed me through the door. I would have stayed home, there was really no point in going to school on my last day, but I wanted to say goodbye to everyone. So, I just suffered through the pointless classes waiting for lunch time, when I had decided I would break the news. Trowa was still looking at me threateningly, but not as bad as he did on Friday, which was a big improvement. I just smiled inside as I thought of what his reaction would be when I told him I was leaving. Would he be relieved, happy? I guess I would have to find out.

Well, I did find out… and it was nothing like I thought it would be, Trowa looked… sad. And a little guilty, like he was mad at himself for his behavior. I had sat down at the table at lunch, mulling over what I would say to them… and then I just decided that I would just outright say it! Heh, they were a tiny bit shocked.

"I'm leaving." I said, loudly enough so that everyone could here. Hilde dropped her fork and looked at me in question.

"Leaving?" She asked, eyebrow arched slightly in confusion.

"I'm moving… today is my last day." I stated, looking over to Heero to see his eyes downcast and concentrating on his food. There was a minute of silence… they were still probably trying to process this weird turn of events in their funny little skulls.

Hilde's eyes shot wide and she yelled, "WHAT?!" It took awhile to calm her down and make her believe that I was 'really' leaving. She seemed to think it was a joke or something. At first she was mad because of our whole bet thing… but she soon looked really sad, and her eyes got all big with tears as she looked at me. 

"Duo… you cant leave… you're the only talk I got!" She said making me smile at her antics. "They don't talk! I'll be alone in the talking biz!" She whined.

Wufei took it much better than her… he said a formal goodbye and wished me luck. Then added to the side that he would miss me. Heh, even Wu can be nice sometimes. I teased him and told him that when I came to visit I would teach him what 'real' karate was. He just growled at me, but I could see the slight smirk on his face when he turned to go dump his food.

Trowa didn't say anything… he acted more on the lines of Heero. I wanted to talk to him, and straighten things out between us. We had been pretty close before the whole jealously thing kicked in. I decided that I would catch him after lunch, and maybe apologize.

Quatre showed up and looked worriedly at the depressed form of Trowa, but he didn't say anything. Just hugged me and told me he would miss me. Trowa didn't glare at me, but he did look up from his food when the blond embraced me. 

Lunch ended too quickly for my liking and I was soon walking down the hall with Quatre, saying final goodbye's, and Trowa was straggling behind… a gloomy atmosphere about him. 

"Quatre…" I whispered into his ear. "Can I talk to Trowa alone?" He looked at me funny but nodded his head and walked down the hallway, leaving me alone with the confused Trowa. He was looking at Quatre's retreating form, and back to me in uncertainty.

"Trowa." His green eyes looked up to me and then widened as I leaned in close to his ear. "Take care of my little brother." I whispered before skipping off down the hall. I glanced back one last time to see the shock replaced by a smile on Trowa's once grim face. I knew I could count on him… and I also knew that the only way to make him understand was to tell him the truth. 

As I ran down the hall's heading for my class, I spotted Heero standing by his locker. He was just staring into it… lost in his own world. His eyes weren't even blinking. Weird. I walked quietly up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. Startling him from his daze.

"Ne… Heero, you alright?" I asked, looking up to him with my big violet eyes. 

He smiled and kissed me on the lips before replying. "No… I wont be ok until you come back to me."

11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

Gya! Bwahahahahah! Yaya! Woohoo! Booo! Nooo! Erg! Argh! Don't worry don't worry… all things will be good again… just have to wait is all. Doesn't waiting suck? I'm sorry! I know it was evil of me to have Duo leave… but that's where my next good idea comes! But I cant tell you what it isssss…. 

Please Review and tell me what you thought, or ask questions, or tell me what really sucks about my story! Thank you to everyone who had reviewed so far!

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	13. Stage Plot

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Blood, death, angst. Sad stuff, but not sad stuff! 

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Plot

I walked with Heero to my fifth hour English class, holding his hand tightly as we made our way through the door. People were giving us weird looks as we sat down next to each other, hands still linked. The day was dragging by slowly, maybe it was because I knew it was my last. I was no longer complaining about having to come… it was kinda nice… having a class with Heero… hmmm wasn't Hilde in this class also?

Speaking of Hilde, she came barging in the door late, as usual. She gave me a sad smile before going to her seat. Ugh, I felt horrible. 

I didn't want class to end, surprisingly, because that meant it would be one hour closer to my leaving. I was content just sitting there holding Heero's hand and drowning out the lesson. The teacher, Mrs. Poe, had looked in my direction before she started class. She didn't look like she was pitying me… just concerned. I wonder if she knew I was to be leaving. I assumed that Kemp was taking care of all my file transfers, so the school most likely already knew.

Heero's hand squeezed against mine, getting my attention. I pushed my thoughts aside and looked sideways, towards him. He was smiling softly, really softly. Probably wouldn't notice if you didn't know Heero. He glanced at the piece of paper if front of us, where there was something written down. 

Hmmm… when did he manage to do that? Wasn't he right handed? And I was holding his right hand… Guess he is multi talented, dang. I looked down to read his neat, perfectly lined handwriting. 

__

Will you be able to call me? Or write me?

My heart twisted as I read over it again and again. I knew the answer, and I knew Heero would get depressed about my response. Sighing, I picked up his pencil and replied with:

__

I'm sorry, I wont be able to contact anyone… but I'll see about getting a letter to you. Oh! I almost forgot… I wanted to tell you th

"Duo Maxwell." The teachers voice stopped me from finishing my letter. I looked up to peer at her worried face. Did she catch me writing notes? Considering the way she was looking at me I figured she didn't call on me for that. Just then, my eyes caught site of something standing in the classroom doorway… it couldn't be…

Yup, Kemp was standing there, looking in my direction. How come I hadn't noticed when he first came in? And why was he here?! 

My grip on Heero's hand grew tighter and I tried to force my mind to calm down. He said Tuesday! We were leaving on Tuesday right? So why was he here? Something must have happened… he's never come to my school before.

Kemp nodded his head to the side slightly, gesturing me to come with him. My hand reluctantly let go of Heero's, and it fell to his lap limply. I couldn't look at him as I stood up, too afraid that if I did I would lose the courage to follow Kemp. People were looking at me weird after seeing the tall dark haired man, fully dressed in his uniform. Maybe they thought I was getting arrested, heh. That'd be amusing.

As I made my way to the door, I finally glanced one last time at Heero, his blue eyes were downcast, staring at the paper on the table… I hadn't finished the note.

As I walked into the hallway, Kemp closed the door to the classroom and stood before me. "We have to go." He said. Although I think I heard wrong at first and made him repeat it. He just said we were leaving… and we were leaving now!

"What? I thought I wasn't suppose to go until Tuesday!" I said, kind of loud. I was just a little bit shocked over this. Well, I was more angry than shocked, but I knew Kemp was just doing his job so I tried my best not to show it.

"I know, but a situation has come up and we have to get out of here… soon. I already got your stuff from your apartment, and the car is running outside." 

Eh? What situation? Kemp was acting kinda like Hall would jump out at us any minute… did they get something on him? My fears that had been forgotten for the day came back full blast and I had a little trouble finding my voice. 

"What's happened?" I squeaked, hoping he would fill me in on why we were in such a rush.

"I cant tell you right now, but we really need to go, now." He took my hand and started leading me down the halls. That's when I realized that I hadn't said goodbye to Heero. I tried to struggle a little, wanting to go back and say something, anything… but Kemp wouldn't let go of my hand. His head was turning to each side as if he were scanning the school grounds suspiciously, which was making me feel a bit queasy. 

Kemp was scared.

"Duo?" I turned around to see Relena, head tilted to the side, eyes blinking at me in confusion. "Where ever are you going?" She asked, walking closer to me. I could see Kemp scowling from the corner of my eyes, but I didn't pay attention to it. He was just mad because we were wasting time… the time I was suppose to have left here… grrrr.

"Eh? Didn't I tell you? I'm moving today." Her face seemed to twist into something like shock as I said this, before coming to something like… panic?

"Bu… but you cant!" Her bottom lip stuck out as she said this. "You're suppose to go to Prom with me! You cant leave!"

WHAT?! When did I agree to that? I don't remember any discussion involving me going with her to the dance! As confused as I was, I didn't feel like making her mad by denying it. It would probably take too much time. "Sorry, sorry… it cant be helped." I apologized. Her arms crossed and she looked at me angrily. She wasn't even close to being as scary as Heero and his glares. Hmm… Heero… maybe I could… "Relena!" My lips twisted up as I came up with an idea. "Will you do me a favor?" 

"Favor?" She looked at me suspiciously, probably thinking I wanted her to do something… laborious. 

"Will you take Heero to the prom for me?" I asked, eyes pleading with her. Although… I already knew her answer would be yes.

"I wish… but I don't think I could get him to go with me! He's stood me up for five of our school dances before! And when I confronted him about it he said something like 'what dance'!" Her hands went up into the air with an exasperated sigh. I couldn't help but snicker as she continued her little rant. "I mean, really… he should have 'known' that we were going to the dance together. Wouldn't it be common knowledge and there was this time…"

"Relena." Placing my hands on both of her shoulders I successfully got her out of her rambling. "Tell Heero that I asked you to take him." My mouth twitched into a big grin as I thought of Heero's reaction to this situation I was putting him in. "He'll be 'sure' to go with you!" 

Knowing Heero… he might lock himself in his room and mope around for months. Relena was a good opportunity for him to get out… live like a teenager and lighten up. Hmm, in these situations usually one doesn't send their boyfriends to a junior prom with someone else… but he should go, and if he couldn't go with me, then he should go with someone. Definitely not alone! Heh, he was really gonna hate me for this one! 

Her eyes wandered to the side as she thought about what I had just said. She looked so funny when trying to think, maybe her head would explode in a minute like they do on cartoons! It took awhile before she snapped out of her little 'thinking session' and she smiled brightly at me.

"I'll give it a try! Thanks Duo! Oh… and hope you… uh, have a nice… leave." My eyebrow raised a little at her. I should have been mad at the way she had said that, like it didn't even matter anymore that I was leaving. But for some reason it was amusing, probably because it was Relena saying it. 

Before I could comment or talk to her further, Kemp was grabbing my arms and started to pull me to the entrance of the school. 

"Duo… we 'really' need to leave." He said while continuing to drag me through the school grounds. 

"Kemp! Are you going to tell me what's going on?" My voice carried a sharp tone that made sunglass boy stop for a second. 

"I'll tell you when we get going." Was the only thing he said… for the next half hour car drive.

His car, surprisingly, wasn't a police car. It was black with tinted windows… which was kinda creepy. I was feeling really uneasy by how Kemp was acting. We had been driving down back roads leading to nowhere! I was starting to think that we were never going to stop. The scenery outside was slowly turning into desert… deserted! And the worst part was that the whole time we were listening to some old guy singing on his banjo! Kemp wouldn't talk to me, but he could sing along to this crap? Ugh, it wasn't fair. 

About forty minutes since we left the city we came to a small town and we stopped for gas. Kemp motioned me to follow him into the run down diner so we could get something to eat. Finally, he was ready to talk.

"So what is so important that you couldn't tell me then, but can now?" I snorted while taking a bite of my cheeseburger. The meat was really, really thick. The kind that no fast food restaurant will give you. Mostly because it was home made, those ones always tasted the best. Especially with bacon in them and mayonnaise… but that wasn't important right now!

"Actually," His hand came out to steal one of my fries off my plate. I growled and stole one of his sliced pickles to get back at him. "I could have told you on the trip here, but I thought I would let you suffer." 

My mouth opened wide in disbelief and I gaped at him. "What?!"

He smirked and took a sip of his coke before speaking. "Joking, joking. Actually I just would rather hold off scaring you for awhile." 

"Scaring me?" Obviously it was bad news since even Kemp had looked uneasy.

He sighed, running a hand over his curved chin. "Duo… I'm sorry we had to leave so suddenly, but we couldn't take any more chances by letting you stay there any longer."

"Chances?"

"Aa…" His head lowered and his expression turned grim. "Yesterday, we got another lead on your father. This one wasn't good. Some street vendor notified us that a man who looked like Hall was snooping around the outside of your apartment." 

The palms of my hands were sweating slightly as I listened to him, nervous about what he was telling me. Hall… was near my apartment? "The man told us that he went east, towards the warehouse districts…"

"Wait…" I held up my hand, stopping his speech. "How did a street vendor know what Hall looked like?" I was really puzzled as to what he was trying to tell me. I really hated being confused, it hurt my head.

He smirked slightly, making me feel a little easier since his mood had lightened. "You didn't think that I would let you live in an apartment, alone, without informing your neighbors about the situation did you?"

"You! You told my neighbors about this?" I stared at him in disbelief. 

"No." He took another drink of his soda, leaving me in my baffled state for a couple seconds. "I only notified some of them that we were looking for a man named Hall, and that if they saw him they were to contact us. And luckily one of them did." 

"Gah! You are confusing you know that?" Rolling my eyes I realized I was starting to get a headache from listening to him. Ugh.

"Sorry, sorry… I just like to see you get worked up over nothing." He chuckled at me from across the table making me moan and start to rub my aching temples. 

"So, are you going to get to the 'real' story yet? And don't bend the truth on me, ya here?" His good mood seemed to disappear entirely, making me think that maybe I shouldn't have asked. My curiosity was killing me, but Kemp seemed to be having a hard time getting it out. He was stalling.

"Aa…" He clasped his hands in front of himself before taking a deep breath in order to continue. "We sent an agent out to go investigate around the warehouse districts. He was suppose to report in an hour later…" He paused slightly, mind probably wandering to yesterday's events. "He never reported in, he went missing… we sent two others out after him. One was found dead, shot, and one beaten so bad they are now in comatose state." 

The pounding in my chest grew louder as I listened to him… telling me that people he knew were just killed… recently. No wonder he was freaking out and wanted to leave right away! These people were probably friends of his, people he saw everyday at work… and now… was it really Hall? Did my father kill these men? How did he find me so fast?

"K-Kemp… why… why would Hall do that? Why would he kill other people… why…" My eyes drifted down to the table. For some reason I was having a hard time believing it was Hall. Sure, he was supposedly after me… because I put him in jail… but how would 'they' know that? And why would Hall kill other people… other than me? It was too confusing to think about and I found my headache starting to get worse. 

I could here Kemp's sigh again and I would have looked at him but I couldn't get my eyes to move off the ketchup stain on the table. "You never heard the full story did you?" He asked. Seeing my head shake, he continued. "Recently after your father's parole a fellow inmate came to us with a confession." 

The ketchup stain was really interesting now, it was moving, or maybe that was my eyes blurring from my lack of blinking. "He confessed that Hall Phelps had been talking… talking about murder. There was this big plan involving killing the governor that helped ban cigarettes and any other entertainments in the prisons. The informant said that Hall was going to kill the governor if he got out on parole… No one took his story seriously until we found the governor stabbed in his apartment with Hall Phelps finger prints all over him."

The ketchup stain disappeared as I closed my eyes, trying to convince myself that what Kemp had just said was true. It seemed that things were getting worse and worse. When would I ever get out of this running away sort of life?

"The other people Hall had said he was going to kill, was some other politicians and… his own son, who he claimed betrayed him." His voice grew soft and I could sense the quiver of uncertainty in his voice. He was having a hard time telling me this… and now I wished I wouldn't have forced him to. "Duo…"

I stood up, rubbing my hand on the back of my neck before looking at him. "Well, we better get going then, huh?" I forced a smile on my face before heading to the door. We were only forty minutes away from town, that was still dangerous… but I wonder why we were driving. Shouldn't Kemp go back home and let someone else handle me? Ah well, I was grateful it was him.

The black car came into view and I got inside, a little surprised to see that the door was unlocked. I could have sworn I heard Kemp lock it… speaking of Kemp, I looked out the front window to see him talking to the waitress behind the cash counter. He seemed to be… flirting? Gah! What was he doing? We needed to go! The girls hair was in a tight bun and she had on a white outfit, kinda like a nurse would wear. Something Kemp said must have been funny because her hand came up to cover her mouth as she laughed. Hmm… maybe he would be in a better mood after talking to her. 

Leaning my head back against the head rest, I yawned. I would have contemplated whether to take a nap or not but I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine. This wasn't a good kind, not like the shivers Heero makes me feel… this was the kind when you know something bad is going to happen. I think the last time I felt like this was when walking home and thinking someone was watching me.

Looking around outside the windows, I didn't notice anything suspicious… or anyone. Then why was I feeling so…

The driver side door opened quickly, startling me. Kemp entered and looked at me weird, probably because I had my hand clasped over my heart and was staring at him, wide eyed.

"Sorry… you just scared me." I mumbled, taking a deep breath and slouching down in my seat. I think I was over reacting a little, who would be able to find us in a dump town like this? My eyes wandered to outside and I noticed that there was only one other car in the customers parking slots. The other one was a new, red convertible, a car that someone here definitely wouldn't be able to afford. Quickly, I looked to the diner windows, I don't know why, but I felt the need to reassure myself that it was just some passerby's car. I looked in, trying to see if there was someone else eating in. I hadn't seen anyone come in, because I was too absorbed in Kemp's story, so I could have missed them. The windows showed that no one was there.

"Kemp? Who's car is that?" I asked, pointing a finger at the shiny red vehicle about two slots away from us.

He glanced over to it, then into the diner windows like I had a second ago. His bottom lip was being chewed on by his teeth nervously as he looked back to the car. "I'll go check it out." He mumbled before opening the door and exiting, leaving me alone with that weird, scared feeling again. 

My heart stopped as I heard some sort of shuffling from behind me. I would have turned around if my body would let me, I was frozen… in fear of what the laughing sound was that I now heard. Something brushed against my shoulder, something that felt like a cold hand. My head snapped to the side and I stared right into the amused blue eyes of disheveled looking man. And I just sat there, eyes wide, not moving.

I could here yelling now… faintly I heard the voice of Kemp calling for me… then blood. A gun, a gunshot… more blood. What was going on? My limbs wouldn't move, my mind wandered as my eyes witnessed something that I couldn't process right away. I tried to focus… needed to focus. My head shook and I finally snapped out of my shock. Hall was standing over the limp body of… 

"KEMP!" I screamed and launched myself over to him, pushing Hall out of the way. He was soaked with red… dark red blood and was gasping for breath as he clutched his stomach.

Cursing… Hall was yelling at me. There was a pain in my side from where his boot connected with me, but I just ignored it and stumbled over the blood soaked body laying in the dirt. I managed to push Kemp onto his back before someone grabbed me and hauled me away. 

Screaming… I think I was screaming now… once again in shock from seeing the dead face of Kemp… the now motionless, soaked mass on the dirt floor. He shouldn't be left there… maybe he was still alive! He needed an ambulance! 

My body jerked in pain as I was thrown into the back seat of the red convertible car. Head slamming hard on something, I could really tell what. My eyes were too blurry. But I didn't care about myself… I could care less about what Hall was going to do to me… all I could think about was that it was all my fault… that Kemp was shot. All my fault… he shouldn't have helped me! He wouldn't have been hurt… wouldn't have been… oh please don't be dead!

A wetness was running down my cheeks as the car finally stopped. Hall pulled me out shoving me onto the dirt road… we were in the middle of nowhere… and he was sneering at me. His yellow teeth showing as he said something to me… I couldn't make it out though. I think he was giving me my death speech. 

Something was pulled out of his plaid shirt… a gun came into my view, yet I just stood there, motionless, staring at the barrel aimed at me. This was it… I was going to die. Shouldn't I be scared? Afraid? Why wasn't I fighting back? Maybe I deserved this… deserved it for what happened to Kemp…

__

"I wont be ok until you come back to me."

Heero… something Heero had said. I told him I would come back to him… and now I wasn't going to be able to… I was going die out here… someone might not be able to find my body. Heero might never even know I died. He would wait for me…

Tears ran down my cheeks as I thought about him… I… wanted to go back. But how could I? What could I do against a man with a gun. A scary looking man with a gun!

Hall's hair was long and he had grown a rather gross beard during his jail time. But the thing that had changed the most… was his eyes… now hard, and screamed murderer. And that's what he was, he was a killer, and I was to be killed.

Weak. Once again I felt disgusted with myself. Disgusted with the sniveling boy who was just going to sit there without a fight… and die. 

I watched slowly as the trigger to the gun squeezed and there was a loud bang. Blood splattered as it pierced my shoulder. Oddly I didn't feel any pain, but the impact sent me sprawled backwards, causing me to fall onto my back, hard. The man who was said to be my father walked over to me. Smirk set in place as he stood above me, gun poised at me head. He was speaking again… something… I couldn't make it out. Why couldn't I hear anything? Why was I having a hard time focusing? This wasn't suppose to happen like this… 

I didn't want to die!

As he pulled the trigger for the second time, I moved… pushing myself sideways, I kicked him in the legs. His hands faltered and he ended up shooting the cold dirt and falling on his side. 

"Damn brat!" I heard him say softly… but it looked like he was yelling. There was something definitely wrong with my hearing. 

He was quickly back on his feet and soon a fist was smashed into my face. My vision blackened and I was having trouble getting the world to come back into view. As my eyes focused again, I could faintly make out the gun, pointed once again towards my face. My feet shot me up and I started to make a run for it. Desperate to live… and go back to Heero, but my arm was grabbed by a strong grip and pain lanced through my right leg. I was twisted harshly around to see a laughing Hall. 

It looked funny, seeing him laughing like that, but not being able to hear it. Kind of surreal. Like I was in my own silent film… a film with a horrible ending. Where the protagonist dies. Though I wouldn't think myself to be a hero of a story, I didn't do anything worthy of the title. 

I could hear the faint laughter now, sound was slowly coming back to me. I think it helped, being able to hear again, I didn't feel as scared… more like one step towards mad. The insane sort. He was enjoying my pain, my torment, my crying. I was giving him a good time. He was laughing! The realization of it made my blood start to boil and my hands twitched slightly against my sides.

Somehow, I was able to feel anger over my fright. "Shut up!" I yelled and sent my foot out to kick him in the stomach. He made a gasping sound and keeled slightly over as my foot hit hard. I must had caught him by surprise, I could see that by the way his eyes widened as they looked back up to me. But they were soon replaced with the hate he must have been building up over the years. His fist shot back out and slammed into the side of my head, causing me to black out. 

I mustn't have been out for very long, because I was still alive. Hall hadn't killed me yet. I wish I could have felt relieved.

My body slowly rose from the ground, head in my hands, trying to get everything back into focus. The laughing started again… then it stopped abruptly… There was a choking sound and I looked up to see Hall with wide eyes and staring at his chest. 

There was… blood… slowly seeping through his plaid shirt. From behind him, I finally noticed another person, standing there with a shot gun aimed at Hall's back. It was the waitress from the diner… her gun fired again and I winced as I saw blood splatter from a head wound. Hall… fell down… not moving… dead… he was… 

"… alright?" Someone was talking to me now. My head turned slowly away from the body lying a few feet away to stare into the worried eyes of a young girl. She didn't look more than twenty-five. "Are you alright.?" The girl repeated. I could only nod my head slightly before I felt the pain in my shoulder again. Wincing, I stood slowly up and let her lead me to her car. 

I cant really remember anything after that… I think I passed out on the way to the towns medical center. My dreams consisted of blood splattered plaid shirts and hamburgers. I know, disturbing. But as I lay in my dreams, I realized something. I had stood up to Hall… I had fought to live. That's what counted… and if I was truly as strong as I wanted to be… I wouldn't let him haunt me.

Hall had made me frightened by living… but I wouldn't let myself be haunted by his dead ghost. Forgetting him would not be possible… but I was no longer afraid of him. There is nothing left to be afraid of… he lost, I won. 

That was the end of the story.

TBC.

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	14. Stage Blue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: angst

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Blue 

"Glade, glade grass… woo woo woo! Nothing but that grazing graaaaasss…" A weird noise snapped me awake from my dreams. It took me awhile before I figured out it was someone singing. As for the song…

"Woo woo woo, yeah , yeah , yeah…"

"Ugh." My hand came up to cover my ears as the sound got louder, making my head start to pound painfully. 

"Oh! Your awake!" Someone off to the side said in a chirpy, happy voice. It took me awhile to process that the person was talking to me, making me wonder where I was. At first I thought that maybe I was back at the orphanage, and sister Helen was sitting over my bed. Maybe the whole protection program was just a dream. I sighed, slightly wishing that it was true. 

My eyes slowly opened, squinting at the brightness coming through the window on the far wall. I seemed to be in a bed of sorts… maybe a hospital bed? Was I hurt? The minute I said that I could feel a soreness spread through my right shoulder. 

"What happened?" I asked, trying my best to sit up and get a good look at this 'singing person.' A hand came and pushed me back into the soft mattress. That didn't help the dizziness I was feeling and I ended up moaning from the nauseated sensation. I felt like I had just ridden the spinning tea cups at Disneyland. Though, I've never been to Disneyland, but one of the orphanage kids told me about it. They had apparently thrown up after that ride and I felt a little close to puking myself.

"Stay still, your not well enough to get up yet. You were shot in the shoulder and leg, you need your rest. Not to mention the giant bruise on the back of your head." The womanly voice stated. "Try not to make any sudden movements." Couldn't she have told me that 'before' I tried to sit up. Ugh.

"Leg? I was shot in my leg? Will I be able to walk?" I asked head tilting to get a look at the bandage wrapped around my calf. For some reason, I hadn't noticed the faint pain coming from there until she pointed it out. Which brings me back to my previous argument, some things are all in the mind. Though, the pain was real, but thinking about it made it hurt. So I needed to get my mind on other matters.

"Don't worry, it should heal fine. Your really lucky, ya know. Unlike your officer friend." Her voice grew concerned and I turned my head away from my injuries to look at her. The waitress from the diner stood to the side of the bed. Her clothes consisted of a long white coat covering most of her brown pants. Her hair was still in a bun, but bits and pieces were hanging out, as if she just woke up. 

"What happened to Kemp? He's alive right?" My voice pleaded with her… I needed him to be alive. I would never forgive myself otherwise. 

She looked down to the floor for a minute, brushing her dark bangs out of her eyes. "I don't really know, I did my best to stabilize him enough to be transferred to the Van City Hospital. He was shot three times in the stomach… truthfully, I didn't think he would survive the transfer." At seeing the distressed look on my face she quickly continued. "But he made it there alive, he's probably still in operating now though, so I wont be able to find anything else out for awhile yet."

"Why am I still here?" I asked, once again trying to sit up. It was hard to lay down and talk to someone. "And just who are you?" Her hand came back and pushed me lightly against the bed once more. I growled but felt to weak and dizzy to protest further.

"When a helicopter came to pick up you friend, you were still unconscious. I decided since you weren't in any immediate danger, it'd be best to keep you here until you awoke." She offered her hand to me, "You can just call me Doctor Jack." She said, pointing to herself proudly with one hand as I shook the other. What a strange lady. 

My eyebrow raised a little at her weird behavior. "But… you're a waitress."

"No, I'm a doctor. I just waitress sometimes because I don't have too many patients in this small town." She pushed a chair in front of the bed, sitting down at an angle in which I could see her more clearly. Her eyes were starting to droop slightly and I got the impression that she hadn't slept since I had been there.

"Eh? But you killed Hall… and you're a doctor." Doctors were suppose to save people weren't they? Not kill them! It was some unwritten law, people only died on their operating tables! I wonder if she could get in trouble for killing him… even if it was to save me.

She chuckled lightly, "Next your going to say 'But… you're a girl!"

"But… you're a girl!" I mocked her tone of voice and rolled my eyes, causing her to break out laughing. I smiled a little, I couldn't help it, laughter spreads! "So… Hall is dead though right? Are you going to be alright?"

Her smiled rose as I asked this. "You let me worry about that young man." Her hand came to clutch mine, squeezing it reassuringly. "Everything will be fine, but you really need to get some more rest."

My mouth opened to speak but a yawn took its place. Guess I did need some more shut eye. "How long have I been out doc?" My head leaned further into the pillows and I took a deep shaky breath, trying to forget about the aching of my body.

"Four days." She stated.

"WHAT?" My eyes bulged and I successfully shot up into a sitting position. I guess she was as shocked as I was because she ran to my side, cursing me repeatedly for moving.

"Joking, joking… jeez, didn't think you would take it that seriously. You were only out for a couple hours. Now lay back down and let me check to make sure you didn't pull your stitches with that little stunt of yours." He hands came to lift up the bandages and she worked quietly, letting my mind wander back to Kemp.

He had better be alive… that stupid man! He should have stayed home and not have had to take care of me. He got shot because of my problem… I don't think I will ever live that down. How could I? When someone gets hurt because of you, your not going to forget it easily.

"How'd you find me?" 

She looked a little startled at the tone in my voice, sad and confused. "Your friend told me to go after you." She said, wrapping my shoulder back up and taking position in her chair once more. "He wouldn't let me check his wounds until he knew you were alright." 

My chest heaved painfully as I tried to calm myself. I could feel a prickling in my eyes where tears wanted to come. But, I wouldn't let them. A warm breeze flew over me and I realized that the doctor, Jack, had opened the window. I looked at her disheveled hair and her puffy eyes as she bowed her head down… she was the one who 'really' needed to rest. 

"Isn't Jack a boys name?" I was suddenly really curious about her. After all, she was the one who saved me… I kinda felt bad for being so rude to her before. But I don't like being waken up suddenly, always makes me grumpy.

Without glancing in my direction, she spoke. "Nah, short for Jacqueline. Though when I was younger I wanted to be a boy… made everyone call me Jack, it sorta stuck with me after all these years."

Her voice carried a sad tone to it, but I didn't want to comment and make her bring up her past. I wondered why anyone would want to stay in a small town like this. Maybe it was to get away from the pressures of the big city. Be able to live more freely… can speed around in cars without too much worry about being pulled over… heh. 

"Um… Jack?" She turned around from the window, titling her head to the side to give me her full attention. "Thanks."

That brought a smile to her face and I was a little relieved to see her in this better mood. I don't know why, but I felt like she needed someone to tell her they were grateful. Someone to cheer her up… she seemed lonely, out here in this town. 

"Your very welcome." Her feet carried her quickly to the door and she stood beside it grinning at me. "What do you want to eat? My treat."

My stomach growled in response to the thought of food and I could feel my mouth start to water slightly. "I want a brownie!" I said, raising my fist up in the air with mock demand.

"I said 'food'." Her arms crossed as she waited for me to answer with something else.

"I want beef jerky." 

"Food!"

"I want some apple pie."

"Duo!"

"How'd you know my name? Are you a psychic?" I asked, amazement lining my voice.

"Fine! That's it, I'll go make you some fried… bean sprouts!" She left the room in a huff and my mouth opened to call after her, but I couldn't stop the giggles that spilled out in its place. I wondered how many times I could make her agitated with me during my stay here? 

I couldn't help but keep the grin on my face as sleep claimed me. 

My nightmares were not as before… I was dreaming I was in a red convertible car, in the back seat, and someone was sitting in the front, driving to nowhere. No matter how much I yelled or screamed, the person wouldn't look around or stop the car. It seemed like I was sitting there, in the car, and screaming for hours and hours. But as I woke up, the sun was still out so it must not have been that long. 

Jack came in about ten minutes after I awoke, she seemed please to see me up and went away to get the food she promised me. I groaned when I thought of what it was that I was going to be eating soon… but Jack was just kidding about the whole fried bean sprouts thing. Instead she brought me a deli sandwich with lotsa mayo. Yum. 

"They're going to send someone down here tomorrow, the sun is going down and they said that they'll have someone leave in the morning. As for me… I have to go also. Lucky, huh? Finally get out of this town and it is to be escorted by the police!" She leaned back in her chair with a frustrated sigh. The sky was slowly darkening as we ate and as the minutes passed on, I was getting more and more curious to what she meant by her statement.

"Why are you in this town?" I asked, looking down at my half eaten food. I don't know why I was feeling so uncomfortable asking her this, probably because it could be personal stuff. Hmm… I guess this is what Heero feels like when asking 'me' questions. 

"You mean why don't I leave if I seem to hate it so much." It wasn't a question, she already knew what I wanted to know. Her eyes seemed to drift off into her mind, not really seeing what was in front of her anymore. I wondered if she knew that she had been staring into space for a good five minutes before she decided to come back and answer my question. "I cant leave." Was all she said before standing up with a yawn and walking out the door. Her head popped around the corner and she said, "Get some sleep." Before disappearing for the night. 

I wasn't tired. Sleeping all day will do that to a person. My legs felt cramped and I just wanted to stretch my muscles, if only I wasn't too afraid that I'd pull a stitch or something. The rooms air was a little too warm for my liking and I ended up pushing off all my covers. They fell to the ground making me groan and curse myself for kicking them where I couldn't retrieve them. One thing is for sure, being injured sucks. 

Since I wasn't tired, the only thing I could do to occupy my time was think. And the only thing I wanted to think about was Heero. Even though it hurt slightly, wondering what he was doing… without me. I had only left him a little while ago and then all this happened… too soon. But it was over… I would finally be able to go back to him, I hope. What if they decided to send me back to the orphanage? They couldn't… but I had no money now, I'd have to get a job… and living in Vanibin would be hard. Everything is expensive there.

What was I going to do?

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Morning came and I was thrilled when Jack came in early to check on me. She had a brownie and beef jerky with her! My hands clapped together and I thanked her with a big grin. "Being hurt isn't so bad if you still get good food!" I said through mouthfuls of the chocolate.

"Hey! Don't eat all that in one sitting!" She yelled while snatching half of the brownie away from my tight grip. My lip stuck out in a pout as I attempted to reach for it back, to no success. "Your healing, you need healthy food, and you haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" 

"Brownie! Brownie!" My hands waved anxiously in the direction she was holding it away from me. "Pleassseeee Jack?! I've been dying for sugar all night!" 

She just shook her head with an evil grin and put in on one of the far tables, out of my reach. My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arms angrily. Pain lanced through my shoulder as I tried to cross my right arm, causing me to wince.

"Duo! Careful… jeez, cant stay still for a minute, can you?" She scolded while checking over my injuries. 

"Ow!" Her finger came to poke at my leg. "Jack, that hurts!" She just chuckled at my whining and poked me again.

"Well… it doesn't look like we have to amputate it." Her hand came up to her chin and she looked thoughtfully at my leg.

"Y-you…" She smirked at seeing my wide scared eyes that were trying to get a better look at my leg. 

"Joking, joking." Gah! She said 'that' again… Kemp use to always say that when he would kid around with me. 

"Did you find out anything about Kemp?" I asked, looking worriedly out the window. The sun was still eye level so I figured it was still pretty early. Well, I would call afternoon too early on some days, so I wasn't the best judge of time. 

"Yeah… called them this morning." She didn't finish answering my question, just walked over to play with some of the fake flowers she had put beside my bed. Apparently, purposely avoiding answering.

Ugh… do people like to make it hard for me? Like to keep me in suspense? "And…" I asked, annoyingness sounded through my voice. 

She just smirked. "They said he is stable… but he hasn't woken up yet from the drugs they gave him." As she turned in my direction, her lips formed a sad smile. I guess she noticed the relief that was washing through me as she has said that. Kemp was doing alright, hopefully he would stay that way.

"So when do I leave to go see him?" Well, she never told me I would be able to see him… I only hoped they would let me. And what about his girlfriend… she must hate me right now. First for taking him away from his home, and second for being responsible for his injuries.

"You don't. Your going to be transferred to the same hospital, but he isn't allowed any visitors for some time. Only family, you know… usual procedures. During that time you will most likely be questioned by the police and hopefully we will not have to go to court over this. But I don't know anything about that stuff. I'm just a Doctor slash waitress, remember?" She turned the chair around and sat in front of me, chin resting on the back part of it.

"Are you the only doctor in this town?" I think I was figuring out a little of 'why' she wasn't able to leave this place.

"Yup, just me and my assistant, though he is in school right now." My eyebrow raised in question… in school? At seeing my unvoiced question, she answered with, "My son, he's in fifth grade. Usually helps me around the clinic." 

"Your married?" She looked a little too young to have had a kid at her age… and a fifth grader at that! Maybe she was one of those early mothers, had a child in her teen years. But… how was she able to become a doctor so quickly then?

Her face grew sad, even with the smile still in place I could tell her mood had dropped. "Was married. He left us a couple years ago and disappeared." 

"Hmmm… how old are you? Twenty five?" I asked seriously. 

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise before she grinned. "Haha, very funny."

"What? Your not twenty five? Are you twenty three?" She laughed some more. I noticed she was really attractive when smiling, and it made me wonder why someone would ever want to leave her.

Her eyes rolled at me before saying. "Thirty one." Now it was my turn to be surprised. I looked her up and down, trying to find the thirty one year old to no success. 

"Your joking right? Joking, joking?" Her hand came up in attempt to stifle her giggle and she shook her head amused by my little question.

Jack looked like she was going to say more, but their was a sound outside that might have been a car pulling up. She jumped out of her chair and quickly made her way through the door. I was left alone with one thought still circling my head. "She couldn't be thirty one!"

A man came into my little… hospital room? He was a police officer, and I was surprised that I recognized him. Though, I couldn't figure out where I had seen him before. He walked up and smiled at me before introducing himself.

"I'm Harris, you'll be coming with me to the hospital so they can do a quick check up and figure out how long you have to stay." He held out his hand and I took it shakily. I still couldn't remember where I had seen him from and it was bugging me.

Jack came in with a wheelchair and they both lifted me up into the uncomfortable contraption. The only reason it was uncomfortable was because I was in a weird gown with no back and too baggy pants. The pant legs had one side long and one side cut off above the calf, where my bandages were. I think I complained a little as they wheeled me outside in front a big van, but Jack only laughed at my clothes and said that I looked cute in them. Ugh… there was definitely something weird about this woman. She liked to laugh at her patients. Grrrr.

I was lifted into the front seat and the wheelchair was stowed in the back. This was it, I was leaving. Jack took my hand in hers and smiled sadly. "I'll come visit you when I get forced to come down to the police station." I smirked and nodded my head in answer. Though, that didn't seem to be enough for her. Leaning forward she placed a light kiss on the cheek before shutting my door and waving goodbye.

I blushed at seeing the Harris guy looking our way. Ugh , embarrassing. But I wasn't complaining, I like Jack, she was a nice Doc. We pulled out of the dusty driveway from the almost rundown looking clinic. Harris didn't really talk to me much on the way there, and I found myself stealing glances at him every so often. He had red hair, the kind you wouldn't forget easily, and light blue eyes. He caught me a few times looking at him and raised an eyebrow at me in question. 

"Sorry… you look familiar but I cant remember where I've seen you." I admitted after the third time he caught me staring. 

He just smirked slightly and said, "Hmmm… I get that a lot." 

I sighed before turning my head towards the road outside. It would take us about twenty more minutes to get there and I was bored out of my mind. It didn't help that my leg was cramped and killing me because I couldn't move it much. The hospital would tell me when my leg would be healed… and when I would be able to walk again… But I wish they would let me see Kemp. I was starting to get really worried about him…

"That's it!" My loud voice startled Harris and he looked at me in surprise. "You're the guy in the picture with Kemp at the police station!" I said, proud that I had figured it out.

He smirked, turning his eyes back to the road. "Yeah, we went to school together." That's the only thing he would tell me, for we had now just entered the city. My heart was racing quickly as I looked around the streets of my home. My home… only because Heero was here. I really wanted to see him. Heh, I was back quicker than I thought! Who knew that Hall would go and get shot the very next day!

The hospital came into view and my good mood seemed to disappear entirely as I stared up at the blue building which held Kemp. "Have you heard anything about Kemp?" I asked softly, eyes glued to the big entrance doors. 

"Aa… don't worry about him kid. He's made it through a lot worse than a couple bullets in the stomach." Harris said as he parked the car close to the doors. He walked around and opened the passenger door for me, helping me out. I had to balance on one foot as he got the wheelchair out for me, which was a little uncomfortable.

It took a long time for me to finally be placed in a room and assigned a doctor to look over me. He was a little surprised when seeing that I was stitched up and everything was fine. Guess he didn't think Jack would do a good job. The doctor told me that I wouldn't be able to move much for about a week, and I'd have to stay here until my shoulder wound healed enough to where I could move around without worry of breaking the stitches. It was tough not being able to lift your right arm higher than a few inches. And it didn't help when they bandaged me so I could barely move to eat by myself. 

Rest was boring, but I had a television in my room… which soon became annoying since I could never find anything good to watch. People came in to see me sometimes… and I wished that they would have been Heero… but I didn't really want him to see me like this. He would get freaked out and worry… plus I didn't have his phone number… and if I did, his family would probably hang up on me. A couple times I played with the idea of asking Harris to go and get Heero for me… but I didn't want to bother him with that. So, I just had to suffer.

I couldn't wait for my release date when I could go see him and everyone. I missed seeing Quatre too. It always cheered me up when I saw him smile. He just had that type of personality I guess, he could make anyone feel better. 

Five days later I was released. After cursing and whining about everything the nurses were glad to see me go. Heh, I was suppose to leave two days earlier but I was stupid and tried to walk… my stitches got ripped again, and let me tell you, the nurses were 'not' happy with me after that. They had stopped treating me nicely shortly after I pulled some plugs on my machines causing a weird beeping sound to go off. They had run in here faster than I had ever seen a nurse run and scolded me, telling me sternly to stop getting into trouble and rest. I was sick of resting! Right now I felt like I would never go to bed again! It sucked!

On my fourth day in the hospital, Jack had stopped by for an hour. She told me about her son, and played cards with me to pass the time. It got really quiet after she left and I was starting to contemplate getting Heero over here somehow so he could to hack into the hospital computers and get me released. But… I was only thinking through an extremely bored mind.

Harris came to pick me up on my fifth day and told me the good news. Kemp was doing fine, but was worried about me. I wanted to go see him, but Harris said we had to go down to the police station for paperwork and stuff. 

Well… that turned out to take three days, and I was so sick of hospitals and police officers that I almost turned down the invite to go see Kemp. But my inner conscience told me that I had 'really' wanted to go see him. It was weird watching him laying in a bed, nine days after the accident he still looked pretty sick. They said that he had gotten an infection and was still recovering from that. But it didn't make me feel any better. 

Kemp was thrilled to see me up and alive… leaning on one crutch as I made my way to his bed. We talked for awhile about what had happened and I was surprised when he started apologizing to me. Him… apologizing. 

"Kemp! What the hell are you saying sorry for? It was my fault you got shot!" He just shook his head slightly, not listening to my reason.

"I shouldn't have gotten shot, that was the problem. I didn't even notice that car tailing us as we left! It was a stupid mistake which I wont make a second time." He seemed really depressed, blaming himself for my accident. And no matter what I said, he didn't feel any different. 

I left him a half hour later, intending on going back to my apartment. Though, I didn't have any of my clothes, since it was still in Kemp's car… forty miles away. Harris had said that I was still allowed to live at the apartments, but I would need to get a job when my leg healed, that's when they would set me loose and I would be on my own. It was really scary thinking about that. But I figured I'd be happy as long as I got to see Heero and Quatre. Nothing else mattered at the moment, especially not money. 

So here I was, limping on my one crutch towards my front door. It was weird coming back there, and seeing it almost exactly the same, minus my clothes… and no food. Ugh. Harris had left me with a couple shirts and pants that he had grown out of and never gotten around to throwing out. They were a little too big, but I wasn't really complaining… clothes were clothes, and I could use all I could get until my stuff was retrieved and sent back to me. 

I leaned my head against the cold tiles of my kitchen counter. It felt good to be back, even if this place always made me lonely. Anything was better then being in that hell hospital! My head lifted slightly to see a pink flyer sitting in front of me… hmmm. I picked it up, feeling myself smile as I read it over.

"Ooooo…"

TBC.

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hmmm… that one ended up to be longer than I expected… wooooo. Sorry about the lack of… Heero *sniff* in this chapter. Please Review and tell me what you thought of me storyeee sooo far!

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	15. Stage Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: umm YAOI-not much other than kissing

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Confessions

Orange and red lights flooded the dance floor, I could barely tell one person from the other in the large crowd. Music blared loudly through the speakers behind me. I had entered through the back of the ballroom, had to sneak in. If you haven't guessed already, I was at the Prom. Lowe High School Prom, they wouldn't let me in normally, so I had to bribe a band member to leave the door open in the back. I had promised him I'd introduce him to a pretty girl, heh. Some guys are too easy. Now, if only I could find Hilde to uphold that promise… What the?

From across the room I could see Hilde and Wufei dancing with… matching outfits. Damn, who knew Wufei would actually go with Hilde… and Wufei was actually at a dance! Now who am I gonna get?!

My worries were cut short as I finally spotted my original prey from across the room. Heero… sitting in a chair? Where was Relena? Just as that thought came, I heard a squeal of laughter from behind me. Turning towards it, I noticed that the blond was… dancing with someone else! How dare she leave my Heero all alone like that! Well, I wasn't 'that' mad. I'd be more angry if Heero was actually dancing with someone other than me, even though it was my fault he was here in the first place, heh, evil Duo! 

I had planned on seeing Heero and everyone a couple days ago, until I found that pink flyer on my kitchen counter. It was one of Relena's 'vote for me' flyers. Cant really remember ever taking one home with me, oh well. 

So, I stayed home and rested… well, I didn't really do the sleeping kinda rest, I just stayed off my bad leg so it would heal enough to where I could go off my one crutch. That would be a little too obvious at a dance don't you think? Walking around with a giant stick… I didn't want to draw any unwanted attention… and get kicked out. Nope, cant have me getting kicked out before I see my Hee baby!

Pushing through the crowd, I snuck forward, trying not to disturb the messy haired boy. His eyelids were shut and he had his head tilted to the side as if sleeping. He really needs to get more sleep, I never knew someone before him who could doze off in such odd places. My eyes raked over his body, he had dismissed the tux jacket and was now just wearing the white undershirt, with black pants that fit him perfectly. 

My feet carried me a foot in front of him, still he did not wake up. Smirking, I leaned in closer, taking in his scent and admiring his beautiful sleeping features. My mouth moved in to press against Heero's tempting lips in a light feather kiss, causing him to stir under my ministrations. Finally coming to his senses, his eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet angrily. 

"What the Hell wer…" Blue eyes widened, he blinked, then fell back into his seat as he realized it was me. "Du…o?" His voice was a little shaky and I was starting to worry about him. Moving closer I leaned down and embraced his sitting form. Hands moving to brush through his hair as he recovered from his shock. 

His strong arms came to wrap around my waist, pulling me closer. Head burying into my lower chest, he whispered a soft, "Your back." I could feel his breath, taking in gulps of air as his arms clutched tighter around my waist. "Your really back?" His head finally moved to look up at me, eyes moving over my black long sleeve shirt that fit tightly on my small frame. I could feel him shudder as he moved his gaze back up to catch mine.

I smiled at his pleading eyes, begging me to confirm that I was in fact 'really' here. "I'm back for good." I whispered softly running the palm of my hand over his cheek. His face brightened and a soft smile appeared on his lips. I took a step back as he stood up, but was pulled forward once again as Heero kissed me. His lips sought all that I had been missing in the two weeks I had been gone. Our lips parted and I moaned as he pushed his tongue through, kneading together with mine, making my knees feel weak. I had to cling to him in order to not fall over. 

His arms tightened their hold on me, causing me to wince as my shoulder was squeezed. I had hoped he hadn't noticed it, but he did, of course he did! He pulled away from me with wide confused eyes, "Duo?"

I couldn't help but smile at his reaction, he was really cute when he was worried. But I did feel a little irritated that our kiss was broken. "I… uh… kinda got hurt, but its alright… its just still healing." I blurted out quickly.

His eyes searched mine for a moment, reading them for the answers I wasn't giving him. 

Sighing, he loosely embraced me once more. "Your going to tell me everything later… but for now…" His lips were on mine again and he pushed against me hungrily. I sighed softly into the kiss, feeling completely blissful. I had missed him. 

"DUO!" A shocked cry caused me to break away from Heero. Turning around, I saw Hilde with her hand over her mouth in shock. "Your… back…" 

Wufei was standing beside her with a red face, obviously flustered from the little show me and Heero must have put on. He opened his mouth to say something when a blond bundle of energy pushed him over, running full speed towards me. 

"Duo! Duo!" Quatre ran up and embraced me tightly, pushing Heero slightly to the side. I could hear him growl angrily at Quatre, but I chose to ignore it. I was too busy trying to stop myself from laughing at the blond, jumping up and down questioning me excitedly.

Trowa appeared right after, giving me an apologetic smile. "He saw you from across the room, couldn't hold him down."

I smiled brightly, relieved that Trowa was on good terms with me again. "What did you give him? Caffeine pills?" I joked, while running a hand through his long blond hair. "Jeez, when was the last time you cut this? Its getting past your ears!"

Quatre just chuckled and hugged me tightly, causing me to recoil slightly in pain. Ugh, I forgot how emotionally huggable people can get! Big eyes looked at me concerned, "Duo? Are you alright?" His hand came to touch my shoulder and I cowered back another step, holding up my hands in apology.

"I'm alright, just don't touch the shoulder." 

Light blue eyes widened again and he stared hard at my right shoulder, like he wanted to see through the fabric of my black silky shirt. "Duo… what happened? How come you're back so soon?" 

I bit my lip and internally groaned. I knew they were going to ask that question, but I didn't think it would be so soon. I know, I could tell them the truth now… since I didn't have anything to worry about anymore, but the prom wasn't really the place to say these things. Dances were meant for fun, not creepy past event news. 

But, they were all staring at me, expecting an answer… what was I suppose to do? 

"I uh… don't want to tell you." My truthfulness seemed to make Quatre even more worried. Sighing, I ran my hand through my bangs, trying to figure out what to do next. Everyone was so damn curious these days! "Look I'll tell you eventually, but do we really have to talk about this now? This is a dance! So lets go dance." I tried.

"Screw the prom, I'm more interested in where you've been for the last couple weeks! And now you come back injured?" Hilde's hand came out to touch my shoulder like Quatre had tried to, but before she could make contact, Heero caught her wrist and growled in warning. 

"I was… shot." I mumbled the last word a little to softly for anyone to hear. My arm reached out so I could clutch onto Heero's hand. Trying to get any amount of strength I could from him. There was a sting in my leg and I realized that maybe I shouldn't have been standing so long. 

My weight shifted to my good leg, causing Heero to look confusedly at me before asking, "What?"

"I got shot." I said loud enough for all of them to hear. Heero's grip on my hand tightened, but I wouldn't look in his direction to see his reaction. I knew it wasn't going to be good. Hilde on the other hand, looked almost amazed, and I couldn't help but smile slightly at the gaping mouth that Wufei was showing me. A shocked Wufei! Wish I had a camera.

Quatre's hand had come up to cover his mouth and he stared at my shoulder again with a pained look on his face. "Your shoulder? You got shot in the shoulder?" He asked, gripping Trowa's hand like I had Heero's, for support.

Maybe I shouldn't tell them about my leg… ah shit. There going to find out anyway. Taking a deep breath I managed a quick, "And the leg." Before turning my eyes downcast to the floor. I really didn't need to see their faces after that one, I already knew what would be on them. Probably some filled with pity, Quatre's with horror… and I don't blame them. It made me sound like I was in a gang, and we had a shoot out. Who knows what weird conclusions they could generate in their skulls.

Heero growled slightly beside me before spitting out, "Hall." in an angry tone. My breath quickened and I pushed my eyes back off the floor towards my brother. Quatre's eyes were huge and he was staring at Heero like he had just announced his death.

"Did… you say Hall? Duo?" His eyes moved to me in pleading, asking me to confirm it negative. "Our father?"

"'Our' Father?" Hilde arched a brow at me in confusion. "Will someone please clue me and pumpkin in on who the hell Hall is!?" Wufei rolled his eyes at the nickname, but looked to me just as curious for the answer.

I groaned slightly before pushing Heero down to sit in the chair. He fell, looking at me with an arched eyebrow before I sat down on his lap. Arm wrapped around his neck, I sighed happily. I don't think I could take standing any longer, especially through the speech I was about to give.

It took me awhile to get started, I had to start way back in the past. When me and Quatre were kids. It got easier talking though, probably cause I love to talk. I didn't even pause when I told them about the day Hall had shot me. Of course, I didn't mention my crying or any of the embarrassing things that day. I told them about Jack, and how she hates her life in the small town, and about my visit to Kemp… how he still blamed himself for what happened. The best part though, was seeing there faces when I told them about my hospital stay, my fun tormenting the nurses. I think they started to feel sorry for those poor souls in the hospital, people they never even met before. Heh, I was bored! I couldn't help it!

When all was said and done, I looked up to see their quiet figures, all eyes slightly downcast. No one spoke for a long while after that, all trying to sink my information in. All except for Quatre, he was having a hard time not breaking down right there on the spot. His hand was still covering his mouth, his other his heart, as if in pain, emotionally. I wondered if he was slightly mad that I had never told him about this… but then… he might have broken down like he was about to now.

My eyes looked to Trowa and he seemed to understand my silent question because he grabbed the blond and pulled him into a comforting embrace. Murmuring comforting words too softly for my ears to catch. It seemed to help though and I felt a big weight off my chest. My eyes closed and I leaned my head into the crook of Heero's neck, kissing it softly before resting my forehead on it. I could feel him relax under my touch, he was pretty high strung from listening to my story. I was going to get chewed out by him later, I bet. 

I felt weary all of a sudden, and I cursed myself for actually feeling tired. I guess resting for weeks made my stamina weak or something. Heero seemed to notice and looked down at me worriedly. "Are you alright?" He whispered. I could feel him lean over to press his face into my hair, taking in the smell of my shampoo, the same citrus stuff I had him use when he had showered at my place.

Hilde cleared her throat, trying to get someone's attention and I looked up to see her with a smirk on her face as she looked at me and Heero in our little cuddling position. I blushed slightly, realizing that all of them had been staring at us. 

Hilde opened her mouth to comment, but Wufei cut her off. "When did THIS happen?!" He asked, pointing his finger at me and Heero.

I grinned slightly and pointed back to him and Hilde. "When did THAT happen?" His ears turned a little red and he growled something under his breath. Chuckling, I snuggled closer to Heero, my wiggling on his lap caused him to smile slightly. It was good to be back. Now, if only I could stay like this forever!

A loud cheering went through the crowd and I looked up towards the small stage where the band had been. A man was talking to the crowd but I could barely hear him over the yelling and screaming of promy people. Everyone seemed to turn their head towards a big screen behind the man. I think it was time to announce prom queen and they were going to show the scores on the screen. I had missed the actual voting day, but I still thought that Relena would win, hands down. 

Numbers flicked over the screen next to all four of the candidate names. I smirked as I saw the large number in front of Relena's name. It 'had' to be the highest.

"Hilde… Hilde Schbeiker." The man with the microphone said, staring at the screen behind him in confusion. 

I felt my eyes widen as I saw Hilde running up stage to take her crown. My gaze fell on the number of votes in front of her name, she had… TWO VOTES more than Relena!

"No way! No freaking way!" I stood up to get a better look, wobbling a little as I rested my weight on my good leg. "Hilde won?" I could hear Heero grunt in acknowledgement beside me. His hands came around my waist to help me stand, obviously seeing my trouble. My body leaned against him as I watched Hilde dance with the king, some guy I had never seen before. "How the hell?!" I just stood there, stunned as the dance ended and Hilde came bounding over to me with an evil grin attached to her face. 

"And 'who' said I wasn't going to be Prom Queen?" She mocked, walking closer to me, the scary grin spreading on her lips. "Now… what was the bet again?" She asked, head titling to the side in mock forgetfulness. 

I resisted the urge to pull my hair out right there… Hilde had won! I had to be her slave!

"Don't listen to her Duo… she cheated." Wufei's voice drew me from my painful thoughts. 

"Cheated?" My eyebrow raised as I looked over to Hilde for confirmation.

She just shrugged slightly before mumbling, "I had Heero hack into the system and change the votes." 

"EH!? How…?"

"Everything about this school is run on computers… didn't I already tell you that?" Heero smirked, obviously proud of himself for his little prank. "All the votes were counted by the computer… so, it was pretty easy to make it so Hilde would win." 

"Heero! How could you?" I glared at him angrily before crossing my arms and turning towards Hilde. "You cheated! I'm not going to be your slave."

"What? I won! That was the bet!" Hilde shot back, looking really determined to have me as a slave. "You 'have' to be my slave!" I got a little uneasy feeling in my stomach thinking about what she had planned for me.

"No! You didn't follow the rules!" I snorted.

"Rules? We didn't set any rules!"

"You cant cheat! It's… it's common knowledge!"

"You didn't say anything about me not being able to cheat! Give it up Duo, you have to be my slave for a 'whole' week!"

"Hell no! You cheated!"

"I won the bet!"

"No you didn't! You cheated! You cant win a bet by cheating!"

"I just did!"

"That's not fair and you know it!"

"Oh? And helping Relena against my back was fair?"

"Yes… yes it was."

"That's enough you two." Wufei grabbed Hilde's arm, pulling her away from me and our argument stopped. From the corner of my eye I could see Heero giving the Chinese boy a grateful look. Heh, so we got a little out of hand, no big deal, right?

Heero's hand came out to pull me into his arms. He looked amused for some odd reason, and I was just about to ask him what was so funny when I caught site of Relena from across the room. Her hand was covering her face, tears running down her cheeks. Jeez, who'd of thought she'd take losing so bad. 

An idea came into my clever little mind and I pushed gently out of Heero's arms and started over to her with a hasty "Be right back." to Heero. I limped my way close to her and managed to slightly bump into the sobbing blond, just enough so I could catch hold of something in her purse. Woohoo! Mission Complete. 

I looked at the object I had successfully obtained from her… I think it was a lipstick holder or… something. Oh well! Pocketing it, I walked over to the stage where I spotted the man whom had let me in. He growled angrily and impatiently asked me if I had someone for him yet. I couldn't hold back my smirk as I handed him the… makeup thingy… and pointed in Relena's direction.

"She dropped her… lipstick holder… you might want to go give it back to her." He looked at it surprised and his eyes followed my finger to Relena. A look of determination came over his face. "She looks pretty upset… you might want to 'comfort' her." I chuckled as he nervously brushed a hand through his shiny black hair while slowly walking towards the crying girl.

My curiosity was killing me, so I inched forward a little in order to hear their conversation.

"Uh… e-excuse me ma'am… y-you dropped your lipstick case." Even from my distance and in the dark lighting, I could see a blush spreading on his tanned cheeks as he spoke. 

Relena looked up, startled and her eyes widened slightly at the object held out to her. "Oh… that's not a lipstick holder! It's a tamp… ah!" She snatched the object away and turned her eyes to the ground, blushing even more than the poor guy. "Thank you." She mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"The name's Abdul! I'm apart of the Maganac's!" His hand came up to rub the back of his skull, a nervous gesture.

"The what?" Relena was starting to look a little irritated and I could see her eyes starting to search the floors for a possible escape already. 

"Damn… come on Abdul man, pull yourself together!" I muttered under my breath. 

"The band, I'm part of the band."

That seemed to draw Relena's attention and she smiled at him while checking him out with her eyes. I could feel myself cheering inside as they started a conversation. Knocked two birds with one stone! Or… something like that. Relena was looking happy and so was Abdul… though he was still blushing profoundly.

"What are you doing?" A soft voice asked from behind me. 

Startled, I turned around quickly and nearly fell over as I saw Heero only a couple inches away. I hadn't even heard him come up! Well, its probably because of the music… or maybe I've gone soft from the stupid hospital.

"Aa… just meddling in other peoples business." I admitted, grinning from ear to ear as Heero rolled his eyes. "Heero… do you think you can help me out. I kinda… used up my walking limit for the day and this damn injured leg is killing me."

Without a word, he grabbed my arm, throwing it over his shoulder and we started our hobble towards the exit. As we made it out the door I could hear Heero sigh softly next to me before saying, "Thank God, I was suffocating in that place." 

I chuckled lightly and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Where we gonna go?"

He just shrugged, leaving the decision up to me. 

We ended up going to his house. I don't know why I wanted to go there… maybe I was starting to like his room. The windowless hole away from the world. Or maybe it was because I never got that lonely feeling like my apartment gives off. As we made it to the dark staircase leading down, Heero actually picked me up off the ground before starting his decent.

"Heero! Your going to drop me!" My wide eyed face buried itself into Heero's shirt. I think I lost it a little, my mind went to another place, because the next thing I knew I was on Heero's bed and he was looking over me worriedly.

His hand came out to check my forehead and I rubbed my eyes, trying to take in my surroundings. "Did I go to sleep?" I asked, trying to sit up. My shoulder was still sore and I winced as I tried to move my arm. He pushed me back down and I fell on my back with a light giggle, remembering how Jack would always do that. 

My eyes widened as Heero started to unbutton my shirt. 

"Heero?"

"I need to see." 

I don't know if it was because of the dimness of the room, but Heero seemed to be sad about something. Or maybe it was confusion on his face. Gah! Why was I having such a hard time reading him today. I think I was more tired than I thought. Damn stupid hospital went and made me weak!

I exhaled the breath I had been holding when his gentle fingers started to unbutton my shirt, it came sliding off and I was starting to feel a little nervous now. He was just sitting there, poised over me, eyes taking in my half naked form. 

A gentle hand came up to rest on my right shoulder, just above the injury. I flinched, not from pain, but from the thought of someone touching my shoulder. It was supposedly getting better, but I was getting sick of the aching feeling I've had for all the days out of the hospital. I wasn't even able to tell if it was going away or not, pain slowly fading. Guess I hadn't been paying too much attention. My mind had been occupied with Heero… and getting my leg healed enough to go to the dance.

Heero's body leaned forward and I could feel my breath hitch slightly as he pressed his lips to the ugly stitched up bullet hole. His kiss was feather light, I could barely feel it, but it sent shivers down my spine. My good arm came up and I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him towards my face where I could stare straight into his dark blue eyes.

"Duo?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you like me?"

My eyes widened and I could feel my lips twisting into a playful smirk. "Have you been worrying about that?" 

I could see the tiniest hint of a blush on his cheeks as he nodded, eyes now downcast.

"Hmm…. you're my pillar of support."

His eyes widened slightly before he said. "That's all?"

I couldn't help it, I laughed, totally ruining the mood.

TBC.

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I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should end it within the next couple chapters… or go more into Heero's family problem… I have no idea!!! Wah! If I ended it with the next couple chapters it would be a quick overview of what happened with the court case and evil Aunt. Or… I could make it longer…detailed… I don't know!!!!!!

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	16. Stage Blackout

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+H

Warning: Yaoi 

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Blackout

"Heero?" We were lying on his bed, him leaning over me. I could feel his hand running up and down my arm, causing me to flush from the sensation of his skin on mine. 

He's asked me why I liked him. It was such of a hard question to answer. I think it was more of a feeling, not certain things about him. But… he seemed to be searching for something, worried about my answer… 

What was I to say? There was way too much. I guess, the first reason I was drawn to him was because of his looks. But, isn't that usually what brings two people together at first? Their appearance, behavior… the first impression. And then you start to get to know one another… find out if the relationship will work or not.

Heero is so strong… I think that was the second thing that drew me to him. His strength… even if he doesn't realize it, it's there. I'd seen it when he stood by me, seen it when he confessed his past. His eyes will tell you… the cold mask he wears… his strength against his problems. He sees it as a weakness and I should be angry at him for that. Yet, he admits to himself… he can honestly tell me he is weak… isn't that strength? To not deny apart of you? To be able to analyze yourself and pick out your flaws. Trying to change them… to become a better person. I only wish I could tell him that he is strong in that sense… but I would be too afraid of his denial. He wouldn't except that as strength… he is looking above that. 

I am really much more like him than he realizes. We both are two people whom feel weakened by our childhoods. People who lacked love, and family. 

I had always looked for something better in my life… something to make me feel needed. I can not except that my life has no purpose other than to live and die. I'm so close to finding it… so close to figuring out my fate. All the clues are in front of me, they just need to be put in place. And it all starts with Heero… the only person I can somewhat relate to. 

We are similar, yes, but I would never admit that my life has been worse than his… how horrible to grow up in a cold home like he had. No love, being ignored. Just thinking about it makes me want to rip something apart. This house would be a good start.

I'd do anything for Heero… That was a pretty scary thought that was spinning around in my head. It's how I felt, honestly… I would kill anyone who so much as touched him in a bad way… and it frightened me. That I would lose so much control if anything were to happen to him. 

Caring… or loving… I can not fully understand all of the emotions that float around inside of me. It hurts sometimes… to think of him, living down in his cold cell called a bedroom…

I think I just realized why I am here now. Down with him in the dark computer filled room. Why I always wanted to come here.

There are places you like to be… only because they hold memories. Like you go back to an old run down theatre just because you had gone there ten years ago. Sitting in the once new seats, reliving the events that happened with blissful thoughts. Heero… I want him to have a memory… something to make him like his room. And when I'm not there with him… he can remember that I was… I was here, making his room a little more livable. 

There is already so much down here… and maybe he was able to feel me even when I was gone those two weeks. 

Our first kiss… I wonder if he remembers, or if he had thought about that when he missed me most. I wont be able to stay by his side forever… wont be able to comfort him in his creepy room every day… but at least he will remember that I was here. 

Heero's hand came up to brush the hair away from my forehead. The soft gesture pulled me from my upsetting thoughts. Made me realize that he was still waiting for my answer. But what could I tell him? It hurts when your not around? My knees feel weak every time you touch me? I don't think that is the kind of answer he was looking for.

His dark blue eyes turned to the side in disappointment… most likely because I was having such a hard time with this and I had to think for so long. 

After laying down, staring at him for a long while, I finally realized that it didn't matter what I said… he was only looking for the truth… he was only trying to reassure himself that I did in fact care for him. We never said so in words, only in gestures. I think he needed to hear it… the words that I couldn't quite say yet. 

My hand snaked up to the back of his skull, pulling him down closer to me. Mouth twisted upwards as I leaned forward, brushing my lips softly against his. It was a quick kiss, just to get his attention on me again and not the wall that seemed to be so interesting to him a minute ago. 

"To me…" I whispered lightly against his lips. "your perfect." I felt him exhale the deep breath he must have been holding and his lips pressed quickly to mine. Moaning softly as my mouth opened to let his tongue roam. 

Hands came up to cup my face as he pulled away and I could see the almost sad look spread on his face. "Far from it." He said softly, rubbing his thumb across the side of my face, running down to trace my bottom lip.

I just snorted before saying, "What? Not happy with my answer?" My lip stuck out and I put on my best pouting face for him. "Well then, what about your answer… why do you like me?"

He sat up quickly, and I could just barely see the smirk on his face before he stood, back facing me. I was still laying flat on the bed as he mumbled. "Your full of surprises." 

"What?" I gawked at his retreating back for a moment before asking, "What's that suppose to mean?" 

He just shrugged, ignoring me while stretching his arms above his head. If he wasn't still wearing that damn white shirt I might have gotten to see his nice muscular back rippling as he rolled his shoulders. Sigh, oh well, I can always make him do that later…heh.

"Ne, Heero… I'm hungry." I whined as I felt the slight ping of hunger from my stomach. I hadn't eaten much today. "I was a nervous wreck all friking day… thinking about the prom. I don't even think I touched my breakfast. Thinkin' about eating made me want to puke!" I admitted, sitting up and hobbling over to Heero.

"Hmm…" His eyebrows crinkled together slightly and he stood before me, lost in thought for a moment. "I think… there might be something we can make." His arms snaked around my waist, and once more he picked me up off the ground. 

I yelped in surprise, I had been in the middle of re-buttoning my black shirt that had been hanging off my shoulders. "Wah! Heero, you don't need to carry me all the time!" I complained as we stepped into the dark stairwell. My arms instinctively tightened around his neck and my eyes clamped shut. I could feel my chest grow tighter as my breath picked up its pace. 

Heero carried me up the stairs, not once acting as if I was heavy. "We're up." He said, closing the wooden door with his foot. How he managed to open the door with his hands occupied was beyond me. 

Sighing, my arms loosened there death grip. It took me awhile to calm down, the fear of Heero dropping me and my claustrophobia probably wasn't good for my health. Being scared sucks, and no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get rid of the stupid fear. The darkness, and the walls that are too close together… still remind me of that closet. The one I was locked into by Hall. 

Disappointment washed over me as I realized I hadn't changed… I was still afraid as ever. Somewhere in my head I got the idea that maybe I would be cured if Hall was dead. But, I guess it is much deeper than that. 

"You can put me down now, ya know." I wiggled slightly in his arms in attempt for him to lose his grip on me, but he just chuckled and squeezed me tighter.

"I know." He said, completely ignoring me and continuing to carry me through the dark hallways. It was late, probably close to midnight. And it was dark! I didn't even think that the house could possibly be any darker than it was during the day. Ugh, this place was way too creepy. No wonder Heero doesn't seem to be afraid of anything… I guess he is immune to the whole 'haunted house creepiness' fear.

My hand reached out as we approached the dinning room, turning the knob for Heero. He just grunted in thanks and we made our way to the kitchen. It was pitch black in there, no windows aligned the walls, kinda like Heero's room. Though, I think the kitchen was bigger.

Heero set me down for a moment as he looked for a light switch. 

"Where the hell did that damn switch go?" He mumbled. I could hear his hand sliding along the wall in a desperate search. 

As the seconds grew longer, I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck start to stand up. My wide eyes searched the blackness for something, anything to make me feel a little easier. But I could barely even make out Heero as he moved to find the magical switch that would make me feel so much better by giving us vision! 

A clicking sound went off and I jumped as white light spilled around the room. My hand came over to instinctively cover my heart and I breathed out a shaky breath. Mouth open instinctively to thank Heero, but as I turned to him I noticed his wide eyes and paused hand on the wall. There wasn't a switch even close to where he was standing.

"Master Yuy! Is everything alright?" Looking towards the other end of the kitchen, I was startled to see a short maid making her way over to us. My eyebrow raised and I looked over to Heero in confusion. Why was she talking to him?

"Shh… be quiet." Heero growled towards the woman. The maids hand came to cover her mouth and she looked over in our direction in apology. "Everything's fine… I'm just getting something to eat." Heero said, while turning his back on the woman. 

She took the hint and started to back towards the door she had come from. "Aa… sorry I disturbed you, I just heard some noises is all. My room's right next to the kitchen is all. Just a little worried is all." I bit the inside of my cheek to stop the smile that wanted to come over my lips as I listened to her weird accent and funny speech. 

She was a short woman, probably in her late thirties. As she turned around I could see her walking funny, like she had a bad limp. As her back disappeared out the door on the other side of the room, I looked up to Heero whom had his eyes closed and a hand massaging his temple.

"That was close." He sighed, walking over to the big refrigerator to browse its contents.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

He pulled out something that looked like sandwich meat and walked over to the food cupboard. "I'm not suppose to… well I'm not allowed to do anything really. Especially steal food at night."

I snorted at that. "Yeah well, it's your money buying the food." The maid lady came back to my mind and I was all of a sudden really interested in her. "Who was she? I thought no one was suppose to talk to you." 

From what he set down on the counter, I figured he was making some turkey… or chicken sandwiches. 

"She's not suppose to talk to me… but a while back I asked her for some favors…" He got out a knife from one of the big drawers to spread some weird substance on the bread.

"Favors?" My curiosity was killing me and Heero just 'had' to speak so slowly!

"Aa… she used to steal money for me." 

"EH?!" My eyes widened slightly as I sat down on one of the kitchen stools set around the counters. It creaked loudly under my weight. I froze up for a second as I realizing that every shift I made would make an annoying squeak. I changed stools quickly and was happy to note that this one only wobbled a little, having one of its legs a little short. The brown stools were really old looking, which made me realize that most of the stuff in here was old and worn. Obviously, Heero's relatives didn't care about the kitchen staff's equipment. 

"Well… technically she wasn't really stealing since, like you said, its my money." He stated, sitting down beside me and handing me a sandwich. "How do you think I was able to afford all my computers?"

"Eh, I didn't think of that. So she stole money from your Aunt…. how?" I was surprised when I took a bite of the sandwich, expecting the white substance he used to be mayonnaise. "Eck! What is this?" I asked, opening up the sandwich and sniffing the weird stuff in order to determine what it was.

"Don't know, just thought I'd try it. Might be some turkey fat left over from last nights dinner." I could feel myself pale slightly and looked to my food, all of a sudden not so hungry. 

As I stared at my sandwich for awhile, Heero continued telling me about this 'maid' lady. "Laundry… she would find money in there all the time… and a couple times she found credit cards. The stupid relatives never even knew they were being robbed. That shows how much money they were wasting." As he said this, he didn't look angry at all, not one bit mad that they were spending his money. I was kinda amazing really, to see him take it so easily. But… I wondered if that was only the face he would show me… maybe he was really hurt about it, but didn't want to show it. That was just like him… Ugh, how was I going to get him to open up more?

"Umm… that lady… she had a limp." 

"Hmmm…" He grabbed a napkin from on the counter top and wiped his mouth before saying, "I think she has one leg shorter than the other, but I'm not certain. She's a good lady though, only one to ever talk to me for longer than a week." He didn't say anything about her after that, just continued eating his food.

We sat in relative silence for a little while longer… me picking at my food until Heero finally admitted that the mysterious white substance was actually ranch dressing. After knowing that it wasn't… chicken fat, I actually thought it was pretty good, especially since Heero made it! 

He seemed to go quiet for a long time after that, a disturbing sort of quiet. I could tell something was bothering him, but was too afraid to ask what it was. His eyebrows were drawn together in deep thought, mouth twisted down into a frown. I think he forgot about me for awhile, too lost in his mind, because we just sat there on the stools in the too quiet kitchen long after the food was gone. And he hadn't even seemed bothered by my non-talkativeness, which he usually noticed right away. 

"Heero?" His head snapped up and his eyes widened slightly at seeing the worried expression on my face. 

"Aa… sorry. Was just thinking." He wouldn't say anything else, and I didn't want to push him any further for tonight, my mind was starting to shut down from exhaustion.

We crashed back downstairs at around twelve thirty, or so his little computer said! And I don't think that it would lie to me. My muscles were aching and I could feel my eyes drooping for about the hundredth time that night, I was beat! 

"We go sleep now?" I mumbled as Heero set me down on his bed. He smiled softly while helping me take off my socks. Don't know when I lost the shoes, I was too tired to really care. If I were to look in a mirror I would bet my hair was half out of my messy braid and dark circles were starting form under my eyes.

Yawning, I pulled Heero down next to me, wrapping my arms around him tightly. "Duo… I need to go get changed." He complained while trying to extract himself from my grip, which wasn't too hard considering my arms were having trouble lifting even an inch off the bed.

"Mmmmm… hurry…" The words came out as a whisper as I sunk deeper into the mattress. 

There was a shuffling sound from across the room, I would have liked to open my eyes but they seemed happy being closed. A minute later the bed shifted and I rolled slightly into Heero. His warm arms came to wrap around my waist and I snuggled my head up against him. 

He could be so gentle sometimes and it was really funny thinking about how he used to act. Cold, emotionless… I remember when I played basketball with him, how he looked so fast and strong, made me feel like he could break my bones by just running into me. 

For some reason… it seems like I never left. Everything was the same when I came back, Heero was the same… or was he?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cold, something was running down my leg and I shivered when my eyes finally opened. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what it was that had awoken me when I felt something run down my leg again. My head snapped down to find out what the strange thing was. Eyes widening as I saw Heero, poised over me, running his hand over my leg, right by the wound on my calf. 

I felt a shudder run through me as he looked up to me, eyes staring straight into mine. My face flushed slightly when realizing that I was only in my boxers. How did that happen? Heero wasn't much better off, he was wearing dark gray sweat pants with no shirt to cover his muscled upper body. A smirk formed on his lips and he bent down, giving the healing flesh the same treatment he had my shoulder. A soft feather kiss before coming up to nuzzle my neck. My breath was in short rasps as his lips moved to cover mine. 

"H-Heero?"

"Mmmm… Morning." His hand came up to pinch the side of my hip, making me jump with a sharp squeak. "Oh? Ticklish?" He asked, moving his hand back to my side.

"Umm." I really wanted to lie and say that I wasn't ticklish, but it was kinda obvious now wasn't it?

His hand pinched my side some more, causing my knees to fold up instinctively as I tried desperately to fend off his attacks. One strong hand grabbed my foot and I squealed loudly as he brushed his hand over it. 

"S.. stop… ow… cant breath." He just laughed at my torture and I soon ended up falling out of bed in order to get free. "S'not funny!"

I lay on the ground, panting and out of breath. I could see Heero smirk in triumph while looking down at me from his perch on the bed.

It was so cold! 

My arms wrapped around my shoulders in attempt to warm up. I didn't dare try and get back into the bed… he was still there, and I would rather be cold than tickled. I blew out a deep breath, finally calming down from my laughing fit. It hurt to laugh that much, and I was getting irritated that Heero was so amused by my suffering!

I watched as the soft expression fell from his face, only to be replaced by something akin to worry. His eyes turned down and to the side, I watched all this with a little bit of fear. Something was wrong with him, I could see it last night a little bit, when we were eating in the kitchen. How he had zoned out like he was doing now.

"Heero? Is… are you…" My voice trailed off as I saw his hand come up to rub his temples as if he had a headache. 

"I…" Moving closer to him, I could see his eyes close as if trying hard to concentrate and get the words to come out. "I'm sorry."

His dark blue eyes opened up to look at me, filled with sadness and I could barely get my voice out to ask, "Sorry?"

"The… trial… is tomorrow… I wont be able to see you for… maybe a week." His eyes bore into mine and widened slightly. I wondered what was so shocking to him, but I soon realized that my expression must have had him surprised. 

My eyes closed on their own accord and I let out the breath I had been holding, taking another couple of deep ones to calm myself. The sides of my eyes were prickling, and I couldn't figure out why I was so upset. Maybe it was because I had just come back… or maybe because I was scared… for him. What would happen to him if the judge gave his Aunt all the money? I was scared thinking about how he would feel… losing what was rightfully his. 

My eyes slowly opened and I gave Heero a weak smile, it was all I could muster up at the time. His eyes were looking at me, pain filling them as the silence dragged on for a couple minutes more. 

"Where… are you going?" I asked, never taking my eyes off of him.

"There's a Judge… that's used to cases like this one… it's a long way out of town."

It was kinda awkward, we were now switching roles once again. Him leaving me behind, like I had left him. But I knew he would be back… It must have been ten times worse for him, not knowing if I would come back years later… or at all.

"W-when…"

"Yesterday… my birthday was yesterday. I got the letter informing me of the trial date a week ago." He answered my question before I could even voice it and my chest tightened slightly as I realized what he had just said.

"WHAT?!" I stood up, quickly walking to stand over his sitting form on the bed. "Heero… why didn't you tell me…" My hands flew up into the air and I let out a frustrated sigh. "Yesterday! It was yesterday and you didn't even tell me!"

My actions must have been amusing to him, because I could hear a light chuckle coming from him as he stood up, arms coming to wrap around me. "I didn't think it was that important." He admitted, pulling me down to lay beside him on the bed.

I growled but wrapped my arms around his warm body in return, face turned so I could look him in the eye. "A week."

"Maybe more." He said, kissing me lightly on the cheek in apology.

We didn't say anything more, just stayed by each other for the remainder of the morning. I think I fell asleep again, only to be awaken by Heero softly petting my hair. I didn't want to get up, Heero was leaving tomorrow, and I felt like if I were to get up… it would only be closer to his departure time.

"Heero…" It was around noon by the time I finally found myself wanting to talk to him. "What did you do after I left… I mean… I didn't even say goodbye." It was really painful to think about that. I should never have had to leave without telling him I was going. I could only guess some of the feelings he went through.

"It wasn't your fault." He said, as if seeing right through my question. Knowing I wanted comfort and to not be at fault. "I only broke a computer or two."

I smirked, feeling a little happy that he was so mad over it… I know, cruel, but it showed he cared, right? Like I should even be doubting that. Damn… he broke a computer.

"Lets go do something." It was Sunday, and we were just sitting there wasting the day away. I wanted to do something to take my mind off the problems coming up. We needed to do something fun for a change. Maybe go out on a date! Oh! Fun! "Lets go to an amusement park!" I suggested, looking hopefully to Heero.

He just snorted and said, "There isn't an amusement park for hundreds of miles." He probably saw the disappointment on my face because he quickly added, "How about the circus, I think they're in town."

My face brightened and I jumped up excitedly. "I've never been to one! Ooo lets go!"

Heero lent me some clothes and left me in his room to change as he took a shower. I don't know how I noticed the folded piece of paper on his desk, or why I opened it up. But when I did, I was surprised to see that it was the note… the one I wrote to him the day I left. The one I hadn't had time to finish. My eyes scanned it briefly and I smiled thinking about that day, how sweet he had been… and I left him.

An idea came to my mind and I snatched a pen from one of his desk drawers. I would finish it now, even if it is too late. I stared at the last line and for some reason I couldn't remember what I was going to say at the time. I think I forgot when Kemp came in to get me.

__

Oh! I almost forgot… I wanted to tell you th

Hmmm… oh well, I'm sure it wasn't 'that' important. I grinned slightly as I finished the note. 

Now… where to put it…

A suitcase caught my eye. Although it made me sad, knowing that he would be leaving, I couldn't help but smile as I put the note in-between some of his clothes. If I couldn't say the my feelings out loud, then I might as well write them down! Hopefully he would see it, heh, and wont he be shocked! 

Heero~

Ano… I don't remember what I wanted to say to you then… but… I wanted to finish this anyway………….. (stalling… stalling)…..

I wanted to tell you that… 

I love you 

~Duo 

(see now its finished.)

151515151515151515151515151515151515

*Sigh* I want a sandwich. Gya! I've decided… on how the ending will be… thank you for your opinions in the reviews! It helped a lot! I've decided how I should end it, but I still don't know how many chapters will be left… not many though. But there is still the problem of the court… when Heero comes back… I don't know what I'm going to do about the money! Will Heero win? Or will his Aunt? Dun dun dun… I'll worry about it when I come to it I guess! Which will be soon… *sigh* … so much work so much work… me go see about that sandwich now.

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	17. Stage Crew

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+?

Warning: Hmmm I don't really know… maybe a little angst… but not much bad stuff. 

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Crew

Monday… I hate Mondays! Waking up early… you lose the ease in waking up because over the weekend you get to sleep in and you end up having to get use to waking up early all over again! If that makes any sense at all. Its like a never ending cycle. The worst is when its still dark outside, which was this morning. I think the time changed or maybe my clock was wrong because, damn, it was still night outside! 

Walking into my kitchen, I dragged myself to the coffee pot, eyes still half lidded as I turned it on. After pouring the water in, I just stood there and watched as the coffee slowly dripped into the pot. It must have been amusing at the time, because I don't remember why else I would just sit there watching the slow process of water falling down. I think I might have fallen asleep watching the stupid coffee, probably with my eyes open or something because the next thing I knew the coffee had long since stopped dripping and it was ten minutes until school started.

"Shit!" Jumping up, I rushed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. There was no way I was going to make it to school on time, I just hoped I would get there before first period was over… ugh, and my chances weren't looking so good.

The walk to school was weird, I could now walk around without feeling like there might be someone watching me. My eyes stayed glued on my path and didn't stray once in worry of a threat. The threat was gone, Hall was gone. Its kinda sad how I didn't even morn my fathers death… I was actually happy he was gone. It made me feel pretty bad, actually enjoying someone dying. 

I don't think anyone would miss Hall… Did he have any friends? Probably, but they were most likely just like him. Mean and uncaring. Would anyone go to his funeral… or would they even give him a funeral? Sigh, now I'm starting to sound like I really do give a care… I guess it just seems lonely… dying without anyone to miss you.

It happens that I didn't make it for first hour, but I did come into second right on time. After stopping by the office to check in with Une, I ran all the way to my math class, barging in the door with a loud "Woohoo! I made it."

Trowa and Wufei seemed surprised to see me. They rushed over right away and started talking as I entered… which was weird since they usually don't initiate the conversations.

"Duo! I didn't think you would come back to school right away!" Trowa had said while taking the seat next to me before the bell rang. 

Wufei was standing by my side and was looking at my crutch with a disgusted look on his face. I'd brought it along. My calf wasn't hurting or anything when I walked, but I wanted it to heal as soon as possible. Didn't want to take any chances of it getting worse.

"How long before your leg is healed?" Wufei asked while grabbing the crutch and trying to walk around with it. It was only one, so was pretty hard to use and he ended up almost tripping on someone's bag before giving it up, handing it back to me with a growl.

I chuckled before answering with, "Soon, and by then I'll be able to start teaching you karate!"

I could hear him snort slightly as he shook his head and rolled his eyes at me. 

"In fact… I bet I could take you even with my handicap." I challenged, leaning back in my chair and staring up at him with a smirk. 

"Maxwell, you wouldn't even be able to beat me if you were fully healed and had a twin!" He growled, crossing his arms over his blue shirted chest.

"And how would you know?! Didn't think you were the type to underestimate people." I shot back, looking up at him smugly.

"Look who's talking!"

Trowa walked between us just then, to stop are bickering. "Come on Wufei, do you really have to pick a fight on his first day back?"

"Me?! He's the one who started all of this!" He snarled at Trowa, causing the banged boy to take a step back, covering his mouth in attempt to hide the humor on his face.

I just laughed some more, causing Wufei to march back to his seat angrily, saying something like, "Damn cripples and their tongues!"

Trowa moved back to his original seat as Relena walked in. She sat down beside me like usual, but today she was… glowing. I don't think she saw me at all… or anything for that matter. Yup, Relena was lost in her own little world and I had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking about so happily.

"Oy? Relena?" Her head snapped over to me as she heard her name. Her blue eyes widened, staring at me in disbelief before she jumped up with a shriek.

"GHOST!" She squealed loudly. The whole class turned in our direction, seeing Relena with a hand over her mouth and arms waving madly in my direction. 

Gah… what the hell is she talking about now?

"Ms. Peacecraft? Is everything alright?" The teacher asked, making her way over to find out what all the commotion was about.

Relena seemed to come to her senses, finally, and her face turned bright red in embarrassment. "I…" Her eyes lowered to the floor, "Sorry… nothing's wrong." 

She slowly sat down beside me again and I caught her giving me weird glances throughout most of the hour. It was really annoying, and by the time the bell rang I flew out of there fast, in order to get far away as possible. As quick as possible! 

I had seen Relena start to walk in my direction when we were dismissed, as if she wanted to talk to me. Well, I didn't really feel like talking to someone who thought I was dead… for some odd reason. I don't think I would ever want to get inside her head and figure her out. You'd get lost in there… maybe die from lack of all colors but pink.

Must avoid…. must avoid the Peacecraft monster…

It turns out I didn't encounter her until lunch time. I was in the middle of a debate with Hilde… about the whole bet thing. She kept calling me a cheater for not fulfilling the bet equipments… even though she was the 'actual' cheater! Jeez, how can a cheater call someone a cheater! Ludicrous I tell you!

Relena walked up to the table, interrupting our little battle of words. Her pink heeled shoes clanking loudly announcing her approach. 

"Duo? May I please have a word with you for a moment?" She asked, smiling brightly at everyone at our table and flipping her hair behind her shoulders.

I cringed slightly and tried to figure how I was going to escape this time… to no success. "Aa…" I finally said, standing up with a long irritated sigh. As I left, I could see Hilde glaring murderously at the blond. I figured she never got over her little hatred for the pink monster Peacecraft. 

Relena led me outside, under one of the many trees, wind blowing the leaves on the ground around us… the whole atmosphere was giving me unwanted chills. I just wished she would hurry up already and tell me whatever it was she wanted to say. 

"Duo… I hadn't realized you were alive…" She started, blue eyes looking to me in sadness.

"Uh…" 

"You left… never sending any word to me… so I assumed the worst!" She interrupted, grabbing my sleeve and looking up to me with teary eyes.

I could feel my heart beating quickly and my brain yelling at me to get away… something bad was going to happen! "I uh…" My voice didn't seem to be working well and I just ended up stuttering some more.

"I know how you felt about me!" She admitted… eyes now downcast. "And I felt the same… but I'm sorry. We just cant be together."

Ok, that was pretty shocking, so shocking in fact that now I couldn't move… this was just too much. Relena actually thought we were… she thought we might… agh! How the hell did she come to such a conclusion? I never even showed one sign of interest in her! Did I? 

My thoughts were interrupted by her sad voice… tears now running down her cheeks. I think she thought the surprised expression on my face was… uh… obviously something else. "Duo… I've fallen for another man."

Now I was actually starting to find this really amusing! I would have rolled on the floor laughing if I hadn't decided that it might be worth my while to play along. 

"Another man?" I asked, trying to make it seem like I was angry. When in fact the shaking of my arms was from my body trying to suppress me bursting out into a hysterical laughing fit.

"I'm sorry." Her hand came up to rest on my shoulder, I think it was for comfort. "I know you must be sad… upset… but I just simply can not change how I feel."

I took a deep breath and moved to take her hand off my shoulder. "It's and older man isn't it?" I asked, eyes closed in mock pain.

"How did you…"

"It's always the older men Relena… but I'm happy for you." I said dramatically. And I was happy! I was thrilled she was going out with… umm what's his name? Abdul? 

"Oh, you don't need to pretend to be alright with this for my sake. I don't expect you to take it so well." If I didn't know better I'd think she was disappointed that I wasn't bawling on the ground right about now.

"No! I'm serious, I am really, really happy that you found someone!" I said, patting her on the head before turning away. " I… need to finish my lunch… and think about some things… it's best if you don't talk to me for awhile." Yeah, wouldn't want that, I don't think I would be able to contain my humor a second time. As for my lunch, I was starving, and I guess I wanted to think about Heero. So, I wasn't really lying.

I walked away, only looking back once to see Relena wipe the excess tears on her sleeve.

By the time I sat down on the table I was laughing so hard, Hilde and everyone were giving me funny looks. 

"What the hell? What did she want Duo?" Hilde asked, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me to pull me out of my laughter. "And why are you laughing?"

I just smiled at her before stuffing the remainder of my food into my mouth. 

"Relena is a really funny person sometimes, ya know?" I finally said, as I finished off the rest of my soda.

Hilde gave up, knowing that I wasn't going to answer her any more than that. Looking around the table I noticed two things, the absence of Heero, which was pretty depressing, and the absence of a certain blond. Now that I think of it, I hadn't seen Quatre at all today!

"Hey Tro, Where's my brother?" I asked, looking over him to see his eyes roll up to the ceiling as he thought. Heh, for some reason I was finding everything amusing after the Relena incident. Trowa with his head tilted back in a funny position where you could actually see his other eye got me giggling again.

"Oh yeah! I forgot he was your brother!" Hilde exclaimed, mouth spreading into a weird little grin. "How the hell did that happen?" I just rolled my eyes and looked back to Trowa, waiting for his answer.

"I think he said something about a meeting… with some family friends. I was planning on going over there after school. Wanna come?" Grr… stupid family of Quatre's. They better pray they don't ever run into me… oh yes, they would be sorry.

Sighing, I shook my head. "Cant… I've got to go look for a job." I'd been holding that off for too long, and I would really be needing the money in order to pay all my expenses soon. But where would I find a job that would pay enough? This was going to be hard.

That problem never left my mind for the whole of the rest of the day. After I left school, I came to the conclusion that it might be impossible for me to get a good job. I mean, I was only in high school… summer would be starting soon, but after that it would have to be part time. And what about college? That was definitely out of the question.

Ugh… what to do, what to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple hours later found me sitting outside a coffee shop, looking through the newspaper for a well paying job. So far I had gone to eight places only to be disappointed by their wages and hours. I guess I never realized that it would be this difficult… and once I actually found a suitable job that I could handle, there was always the problem of actually getting hired. 

The newspaper was starting to fill up with red marks and my mood was turning from happy to depressed really quickly, I was desperate! Maybe I could just get a job at a coffee shop like this one until I found a better place. That idea led me to look over towards the store owner. He was at least sixty, and seemed to be a really friendly sort of person.

"Hey mister!" I waved my hands in the air to get the old mans attention. He just raised an eyebrow at me in question. I don't think he liked being called Mister? Maybe I should try gramps. "Do you know any place hiring?" I asked , eyes pleading with him.

I could see him chuckle as he made his way over to me. Obviously amused by my expression.

"You looking for a job?" He asked, eyes looking me up and down.

"Yep, I'm living on my own from now on, so I need to find one, fast." 

His hand came up to his chin and he made a 'hmmm' sound before saying, "A good friend of mine was looking for an assistant… don't know if you're qualified or not. He works with engineering and robotics or something like that. You know anything about that?"

I grinned widely, showing my teeth. "Not much, but I learn quickly. Do you think he'd take me on? Maybe you could put in a good word?" I pleaded, showing off my puppy dog eyes once again.

The old man snorted and shook his head in amusement. "I don't even know you."

"Sure you do! I come here every… once in awhile for coffee!" I tried, really hoping that he would help me out here.

I could hear him sigh as he started to make his way back to the counter. "I'll see what I can do. Come here and I'll give you his number."

Turns out, the guy was looking for a young enthusiastic new employee! And I just happened to be that exact person. The man, who called himself Doctor S, was working on some new giant robot project and they needed someone small enough to crawl in and make repairs in the harder to reach places. Most of the people there were old… so I think it was a relief to have a young strong person to help them out.

I was shown around the place, met a bunch of weird looking people. They all had at least one odd feature. One guy, named 'O' something was bald and had tiny little eyes. There was also some guy with a weird pointy mustache and a man who always wore a mask. They weren't the nicest of people, but I figured they'd warm up to me sooner or later.

As for the building, it was huge! And so was my salary. My schedule was pretty flexible and if I worked hard I would be able to pay for all of my expenses with hopefully a little left over.

The only thing I was worried about, was if I would be able to learn all of what was expected quickly enough. Though, Doctor S seemed pretty confident in me. Don't know why really, maybe he looked up my record and found out that I liked to hotwire cars and other odd vehicles. Once, I took apart Father Maxwell's car engine to see how it worked… though I was never able to put it back together. He wasn't all that happy about it. 

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As I came home from my second day at work I was exhausted. I'd met with Quatre after school and hung out with him for a little while. Not as much as I would have liked, but it was fine for now. Right after he left I had to go to the so called 'lab'. Doctor S had called it that… but for some reason I kept wanting to call it a shop. 

It was now ten o'clock and I had just gotten home. I guess I lost track of the time, got too absorbed in everything at work. It was surprisingly fun and I was really anxious to get started and learn everything quickly. That's probably why I ended up staying so late, with the Doctor showing me all his cool equipment. 

I plopped down on my bed after getting into some sweats to wear to bed. My stomach told me that I had skipped out on dinner and my drooping eyes told me how exhausted I was. It was hard choosing which way to go… food or sleep… but my mind took over and started to drift into slumber land. Solving my problem for me. 

Things seemed to be going rather quickly, I was happy to have my mind off of Heero, was too busy to be depressed about him… worried about the trial. He was going to have to tell me all about it! Every last detail to satisfy my curiosity.

But the one thing I was worried about… wasn't the outcome anymore… but what it would do to Heero. Would he care if he lost? He never seemed to think much about the money before… but was that only the face he put on in front of me? If he were to get the money… I wonder what he would do with it. An eighteen year old with what I assume is millions of dollars. It's kinda scary, thinking about all that money. People go corrupt over it! They become snobs… well some do. And I don't really want him turning into a Relena. Look at his aunt for example! 

Heero had said she used to be good looking… and possibly was nice at first, for his father 'did' have an affair with her. So it was the money that made her cruel… but it started with his fathers death I guess. She must have been an insanely jealous person. Jealous of Heero's mom… of Heero for getting the inheritance. 

Sigh, I really wanted to see him right now. I miss sleeping next to him, the lonely feeling always goes away. If I had the money… I'm sure I would fix up this cold apartment and make it homely. But, I don't… yet. Money is really evil sometimes, ya know.

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The next day found me off my crutch and crawling inside the big robot things cockpit. It was really cool, I didn't actually think that it would be able to move since it was this big. But, lo and behold, they said it could even fly!

I soon figured out that this was a governmental facility and they were making all sorts of new weapons. Got me thinking that maybe a war was coming up. But, I didn't worry about that too much, my mind was on convincing the Doctors to actually let me control it one of these days! 

Of course… if they wouldn't let me, I could always sneak in and steal it for awhile. Heh, I've already memorized their security plan and passwords. It was really easy to, since they left the passwords just lying around on the workstation desks. I don't think I would actually steal it though, they'd find out somehow or another and I don't want to get fired. 

My money was important to me… much to my hate. I didn't like having to worry about my finances. It always made me sick in the stomach. Hopefully I wont ever be so bad off as to go bankrupt or be in major debt. My stomach really wouldn't be able to take that, heh.

Its only been four days since Heero left. The trial is probably started… I hope it will end soon. Sadly, I think it's gonna be one of those trials that last a little longer. I just hope not too long, worrying is really not good for my health. 

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As I sat down for a break on my seventh day at work, I finally came to a decision. I shouldn't be thinking about the trial so much, I shouldn't be worrying about the outcome… whatever happens will happen. And there isn't anything I can do, but make sure that Heero has my support with whatever comes.

I've decided… I'll work hard… so that no matter what, I'll be able to take care of Heero. 

TBC.

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Hmmm… Heero will be coming back in the next chapter… so don't worry! Aaaaannndd there's not much left folks! Please tell me what you thought about this chapter or say what you thought of my story so far! Its getting really long now isn't it… I think its almost two hundred pages… key word 'almost'.


	18. Stage Toad

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+H

Warning: **Yaoi, YAOI! a little more than kissing… but just a little more :P**

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Toad

Heero comes back today… I got a letter in the mail. I have no clue how he was able to remember my address… but… but he is coming back today! Do you know what he said in the letter? Nothing! Not one word about how the trial went! I am so frustrated and nervous that I can barely keep my mind on work. Heero had said he would be coming back at noon on this Sunday. And I was working… I wouldn't be able to see him for a couple hours yet. 

I wonder what he was doing now? Looking for me probably. I was such a mess this morning that I didn't even think to leave him a note or 'anything' to tell him I wouldn't be able to see him until five! Ugh! 

The clock read three and I groaned thinking, that the next two hours were going to be hell. For some reason I was getting everything done quicker than usual. My mind was trying desperately to keep busy and off thoughts of the tousled haired boy… who was probably really bummed that he didn't get to see me when he came home. Gah! Need to stop thinking about him! But… I couldn't help it! I think my brain was going to fry with all the worry going on inside. He just 'had' to send me a damn letter didn't he! I was perfectly happy not knowing when he was coming back! But no, now I am back to worrying myself sick again.

Ugh. I sound like some crazy mother figure fussing over her child. Or maybe some crazy housewife fussing over her late husband. Heh, me a housewife… wouldn't that be funny.

"You seem to be a little out of it today, Duo?" My head snapped up to see Doctor S standing right next to me. I hadn't even heard him walk up.

"Uh… what do you mean?"

"I've called for you five times already." He said, smiling in amusement at my wide eyed shocked expression.

"AH! I'm sorry! I just have some stuff on my mind." I said quickly, a little relieved to see him nod in understanding and turned to walk away.

"You've been working a little too hard, perhaps you should call it quits for the day?" He suggested, turning his head to look at me one last time.

I just sighed and shook my head. "Nah, I need the money. I'm sorry for not paying attention, wont happen again." I explained, looking up to him seriously.

I could see his head shake and he snorted in amusement as he walked back the way he had come. 

Yes, I shouldn't be getting so distracted. I needed to stay focused today! Need more self discipline! Uwa! Will work much, much harder and make more, more money!

Well… even that said, I had a horrible last two hours. By the time the long hand struck the twelve I was out of there. Fast. Which was really pointless since the bus didn't come for another ten minutes and I ended up sitting and waiting, foot tapping impatiently. It wasn't that far to my apartment, which was a relief. But I was frustrated because I didn't know where I would find Heero. 

He could be at his house, or at my apartment… or with someone else! Gasp! If only I didn't have to work today! Then I could have seen him at twelve! He would have stopped by my apartment!

Hopping off the bus I walked quickly around the street corner, cheering inside as my apartment came into view. The steps were taken two at a time and I stopped at my front door, panting and out of breath from rushing. The metal door knob turned slowly beneath my hand and I opened the door softly to peer into the dark room.

Nothing.

Sighing in disappointment, my shoulders slumped as I dragged my feet through the door, closing it angrily. The place was quiet. I don't know why I was so disappointed. I guess I wanted Heero to be here, but its not like he would be able to get in anyway. He didn't have a key and I always locked the door.

My feet carried me to the back of the couch and I mustered up just enough strength to jump over it, my plan being to lay down and sulk until I figured out where to look for my Hee baby! I landed on the nice soft cushions… at least they should have been soft. And they should have been a little bouncy as well. Turns out, the cushion actually spoke! "Ow!"

My eyes widened and I think my heart stopped for a split second before I looked down to see what the hell I was sitting on. I seemed to have landed on someone's stomach, that someone being just the person I was looking for! He had obviously fallen asleep on my couch! His hands were over his eyes now, rubbing them at he sat up, pushing my frozen body off of himself and to the floor. I ended up on my back, violet eyes staring up at the irritated form on the couch. Probably pissed off that he had been waken in such a hurtful manor. Heh, wasn't my fault! I didn't know he was there!

"Heero!" My senses seemed to have thawed and I jumped up from the floor, body slammed him back into the couch. My lips attached themselves right away to his with a weeks worth of built up hunger. "Mmmm… missed… you… soo much!" I managed to murmur between kisses. His arms found their way to my back, pushing my shirt up slightly as he leaned into me for more contact. 

I was panting by the time we pulled apart. As I finally caught my breath, I quickly asked, "Heero! How'd you get in here?! I was so worried today, I was at work and couldn't be here at twelve, so I couldn't concentrate and was scared that I wouldn't know where you were when I got home!" I managed to say in all of one breath.

He just chuckled and pried my arms off of himself. "Came in through the window." He answered, blue eyes looked me up and down as I smiled brightly in front of him. My heart was fluttering with excitement and all I wanted to do was jump on him and hug him tightly, never letting go. But I really needed to talk to him… 'wanted' to talk to him.

"You're a mess." He stated, smile widening at seeing my lip stick out into a pout. I was waiting for him all week and all he has to say is that I look like crap! He's so nice sometimes, isn't he? "You've got black stuff on your face… what kinda job did you get?"

"That's not important right now!" I yelled, frustrated. I think a weeks worth of worry was making me cranky. "What happened with the trial?!!" I asked a little too loudly. But damn, he was finally here! And I wanted to know everything! I think I was on an adrenaline rush right about now.

Heero just chuckled lightly before saying, "I'll tell you after you tell me why you have a job… and what it is."

"Gah!" My hands flew up into the air and I fell onto my back, eyes glaring angrily at the ceiling while my mind thought of how to explain things in the quickest way without leaving any room for Heero to ask questions. Nope, nope, questions wasted time! "Military facility, approximately ten workers. Working on experimental military weapons…" I sat up and smirked cruelly at Heero before adding. "Confidential to all but employees." Well, if that didn't work then I don't know what would have. I actually don't know if it was 'that' confidential… I forgot to read the paperwork… only skimmed through my contract. Yeah, that was pretty stupid, but I had other things on my mind at the time.

"Confidential?" Heero's eyes narrowed and I could tell he was lost in thought about something. Damn, I bet he'd try and hack into their computer system and look up everything on the project. Hopefully, he wont figure out where I work… shit, its going to be hard keeping it a secret from him… Not that it is a big deal that he knows… but time is a wasting once again! 

My hands raised up defensively, "Aa, Heero! It's nothing bad, don't worry about it, ne?" His expression changed back to normal and he smiled at me as I said, "Now are you going to tell me what happened or not?"

"Hai, hai… but lets eat something first… I don't think I had anything since breakfast and I fell asleep on the couch waiting for you." He grumbled, standing up and making his way towards the kitchen. Leaving me, gapping on the couch like a fish desperate for water.

"Heero! I cant believe you!" I snorted, following him to the kitchen. I slumped down in the kitchen chair and glared angrily at him.

"What?" He asked innocently, opening a box of macaroni that had somehow managed to make its way into my cupboard. "You made me wait…" He looked at the clock. "Five hours for you to get home, I'm hungry!"

"I've been waiting a whole week! Suffering! And you just have to make me 'wait' some more! That's evil I tell ya!"

"Why yes… yes it is."

"Gah! I give up!" My head dropped down to bang on the table top a couple of times as Heero started the slow process of boiling water. I knew I wouldn't get anywhere with a stubborn Heero. "Just hurry up will ya?" I whined, giving him my best, sad, pleading 'I've been lonely and worried sick' face.

He just sneered evilly at me. Ugh, this was going to take forever.

Eleven minutes later the damn macaroni was done. Heero set a bowl down in front of me to eat but my stomach was doing little dances and would not cooperate with the food. And of course, Heero took his precious time, slowly chewing his yellow gunk.

"Eat your food." He demanded, and I already knew what his 'or' statement would be before he even voiced it. "I'll tell you once you finish it… all." Yup, finish your food or no chat, chat!

I think he was 'really' enjoying making me suffer! How could he do something so evil?! One week of absence and he comes back a damn… torturer!

"Hee-ro!" I whined through mouthfuls of the cheesy mush. "Your being mean!"

He rolled his eyes at my annoying childish voice as he stood up to put the dishes away. Once done, he motioned for me to go and sit with him on the couch. My arms went around his waist as I sat down next to him, head burying into the crook of his neck, I asked, "Please?"

I could hear him sigh softly as he wrapped his arms around me in return. "Baka. Why were you worrying so much?" 

"Eh?! Why wouldn't I be!" I asked, dumbfounded as to what he was talking about. What was there 'not' to worry about. Damn, I've turned into the 'annoying housewife' again!

"Everything went fine." He said, successfully causing me to sigh in relief. "Did you think I would actually lose the case?" He asked, pushing me backwards on the couch and leaning over me with a sad smile.

"Did you know you were going to win?" His head came down to nip at my neck as I asked this, causing me to gasp slightly in surprise. My chin tilted upwards to allow him to run soft kisses along my neck, up to my jaw line.

"Of course."

"Eh?" I pulled slightly away so I could look up into his eyes. "How?"

"Wasn't it obvious?" He smirked as I shook my head repeatedly in answer. "Baka." His hands came under me then, pulling slightly at my shirt. Silently working the thin material up my body. I shivered at the sensation of his hands on me, palms running up and down my spine.

"W-what… happened?" I whispered. That was as high as my voice could get at the moment. My eyes had slid shut as Heero's finger tips started to trace along my stomach, ending at my bellybutton. He ran his feather light touch on my skin, drawing invisible patterns on my pale stomach. My breath quickened rapidly when he finally started to unbutton my shirt.

"I decided it would be best to sue my Aunt for misuse of the money put in her care." He stated before leaning down to run his lips against my collar bone, tongue flicking out to taste the salty skin. My hands came out instinctively to clutch at his shirt, needing some sort of anchor from all these foreign emotions swirling inside of me.

My shirt had somehow disappeared and the next thing I knew, Heero was working on my jeans. Hands quickly pulling them away and I was left panting below him, only in my black cotton boxers. The lack of clothing caused goose bumps to appear on my arms and legs from the coldness of the room and as my eyes slowly opened, I could clearly see the strange look, swirling in his dark eyes. Probably lust, which would explain the bulge clearly shown in his pants. 

I couldn't help but feel a bit scared as I realized where we were going. Finally, I noticed that my heart was beating a little too rapidly as Heero leaned down, claiming my lips with his. My violet eyes widened as his hand came to play with my nipple. 

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! 

I think he realized my distress because he pulled away, looking at me with concern and petting my arm gently with the palm of his hand. I was confused as to why he was doing that until I realized that it was because my body had started to shake on its own accord. My eyes looked down to watch as my arms shuddered… fascinated, because I didn't process my bodies own frightened reaction right away.

His strong arms pulled me up from my laid down position, situating my head to fall lightly against his chest. Long fingers brushed through my hair as he whispered softly, "It's alright, I didn't mean to move so fast." 

My arms wrapped tightly around him and my head buried in his still clothed chest, trying desperately to stop my body from trembling and to steady my rapid breaths. It was weird, I was fine just a minute ago, but… I couldn't help but feel terrified. I don't know if it was the thought that we were moving so quickly or the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about this sort of thing. I knew how it worked with woman… every boy my age did… but I never really got around to figuring out what happens with two people of the same sex. It was unknown territory… damn, I was really pathetic.

I wondered if Heero was pissed off at me right now. Although he had stopped… and didn't push me any further, I know he had to be disappointed. 

"I'm… sorry." I said, the words slightly muffled against his shirt. Even my voice sounded pathetic!

"Shhh… it's alright." His whisper was really comforting, and I felt relieved as I realized that he really wasn't 'mad.' His voice sounded more along the lines of concerned, almost scared. "I didn't mean to push you. I shouldn't have done that." He whispered softly, cheek coming down to rub against the top of my head as he rocked me. "It's alright, everything's fine."

It felt so nice… being in Heero's arms while he swayed back and forth. I know… it was really childish of me to like something like this. But it made me wonder if that's what a mother would do… when her child was crying or injured… comfort them by holding them, rocking them until they calmed down. Saying sweet words into their ear, letting their calm voice wash away the terror. No one had ever done that to me as a child… perhaps that was why I was enjoying it so much now. Sure, sister Helen used to hold me all the time… but it was nothing like this… there was no words that I trusted so much as the ones coming out of Heero's mouth. No gentle petting of my hair… I never let her touch my hair, come to think of it. Not since the scissor incident. But it felt so good, having someone hold me like this… with so much love.

Before… Heero was touching me in a way that… felt so good… I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't freaked out… I couldn't help but feel curious over what exactly 'could' have happened. I wanted it… my body wanted it… but my mind wouldn't except it yet. Damn, I'm so useless! I'm almost eighteen! I should be a horny teenager, thrilled to get laid. Sigh, I was so messed up!

My once wide and terrified eyes relaxed and drifted shut as I took in the familiar scent Heero gave off. I wouldn't mind staying like this forever… basking in the warmth of the person I loved so much. 

"Are… you alright?" Heero asked, uncertainty lining his voice. His arms loosened their hold on me, probably wanting to pull away. My own arms tightened around him, pulling him back close to me.

"Mmmfine. Just… don't let go of me… please?" I could feel more than hear the rumble of laughter that escaped his lips. I think he was a little more then relieved that I wasn't mad at him. 

It seemed like time slowed down just then, my thoughts blurred and all I could hear or think about was the soft thumping of Heero's heart against my ear. It was such a relaxing sound, and I found myself drifting off into a state of half sleep. My mind wasn't asleep… but my body was so relaxed that I don't think I could have moved if I tried. 

Heero's soft voice… I could just barely make out the words as my mind started to shut down.

"I love you too." He whispered softly, placing a light kiss on the top of my head. 

I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face and one thought circling around in my head… He had found my note.

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"Wah! Heero! I cant believe that you went off without telling me you already knew the outcome! That was so cruel!" I yelled as we sat down for breakfast the next morning. I had awoken back on my bed, smelling something like cinnamon coming from the kitchen. Heero had made French toast for me! With little bits of sugar, cinnamon and butter spread on top. Yum! 

"I think I went close to crazy in damn worry about the trial!" I grumbled into my milk.

"Baka, you worry too much."

"Why do you keep calling me that? Is it one of those stupid words that… that are mean?!"

"Hai."

"Hey! Speaking other languages is against the rules! It makes me feel bad, ya know?"

"How so?"

"It just does!"

"Hn."

"You have to tell me what happened at the trial now." My fork swiped across the table to steal a piece of Heero's food. He just growled, taking a piece of mine in return.

"Nothing much happened." He stated dully, yawning as he stood to clear the table.

I rolled my eyes at him before saying, "Nothing, riiiiiiiight. Damn it Heero! You are being really… information stingy today!"

"Nice use of vocabulary."

"Hey! It was the best I could do! Now spit it out chef boy!"

He sighed in defeat, causing my mouth to quirk up in triumph. "It was amusing really… the old witch tried to get a couple servants to testify on her behalf." I could see his eyes glaze over in thought, as if he remembered something, obviously amusing by the way his mouth was twisting into a small smile. "They all chickened out on her in the end… were too afraid of being caught lying under oath. So, pretty much, my lawyer just sat there… didn't even need to plan a defense since all the servants caved in and told how my aunt was a money grubber and stuff." He was quiet for a minute before coming back to look at me, chuckling, "One of them actually called her an old greedy toad."

I couldn't help but smile when seeing the humor in Heero's eyes. I was thrilled that everything worked out… but there was still a few questions I wanted to ask.

"What will happen to your Aunt?" 

He snorted and came back down to sit across from me. "She has ten years to pay back the money she used… although she only has to pay back half of what she spent. Or, she can declare bankruptcy… which is probably what will end up happening since she doesn't have much to her name… except what she took from my account and placed in her own." He finished with, once again yawning.

I could feel myself getting angry all over again as he explained this to me. His Aunt was really disgusting!

"So, you going to get rid of that house?" I'd assumed that Heero would sell it or something… get away from all of his bad memories of the evil aunt. 

Shaking his head, he sighed. "No… cant really right away." At seeing my confusion he explained. "There are twenty-one workers there… I don't want to put them out of job. I'll give them a couple months before asking them to find work elsewhere."

"Huh? But what are they going to do? Cook meals for imaginary people…"

His lips twisted into an evil smirk. "No."

"Then what?"

"Their going to cook for two people… one being a really annoying loud mouth."

It took me while to figure out that he had meant me. "Heero!" I growled… but my eyes soon widened when I realized what he was saying. "You don't expect me to exactly 'live' there, do you?"

"Yes."

"You cook just fine! I don't need a chef when I have you!"

"Baka."

"But that place gives me the creeps!"

"You've only been in the creepy parts."

"There's more?"

"Hai."

"I can explore! Oooo… I wanna explore!"

He chuckled and patted me on the head.

"Ne, Heero?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Just how much money did you get?" That was starting to bug me… I mean… Heero's Aunt was able to live years with full service maids and not have to lift a finger to work at all. It must have been some sum of money for that to happen.

"The relatives spent one hundred million of it. I don't know how. I don't think I could spend that much in a life time." Heero said, looking almost bored.

My mouth dropped open in shock as I realized how much money that was. "So… the greedy toad has to pay you back fifty million? In ten years?"

"Something like that."

"And how much was left for you?"

"You really want to know?"

My head nodded up and down excitedly.

"Hmm… wont tell."

"Eh?! Mean!"

He just laughed and leaned in to press his lips to mine. "Hai, hai."

"I don't understand Japanese." I snorted, looking at him with mock anger.

"That's the point."

"Go to sleep." I said as I saw a third yawn cover his face.

"Not tired."

"Liar."

"Baka."

TBC.

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Yes, yes… I know!… though 'what' I know is the mystery! *Stretch* I got a cool necklace yesterday! sorry… just had to share with someone… its really cool… I like necklace! ANYWAYS! Thank you people for reviewing! Please tell me what you thought of this chapter… if you hated it… if you like it… anything you want. 

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	19. Stage Finale

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+H

Warning: **Yaoi, YAOI! Sex, but not too descriptive, so it's probably a LIME.**

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Stage Finale

The next day came with eventful news! I was invited to Quatre's mansion! He was supposedly not at school because he was packing for a trip, says Trowa. And he wanted to see me before he left, said Trowa. So I had to go over there today, demanded Trowa. 

So here I was, alone, standing in front of the tall white gate that is suppose to lead into the giant estates owned by the beloved Winner family. Was I happy? Nope, I was really irritated. You know the feeling you have when there is something that you really hate? You will do anything to possibly hate it more. That's what I was doing, as I walked up to the giant front door, my eyes scanned the surroundings, picking out flaws in almost everything from paint color to flower decoration. Yeah, it was really pathetic. I couldn't help it though, his whole family made me want to punch something repeatedly until it turned into a pile of dust. 

As I knocked on the perfect white door and its little golden knocker handle device, I prayed for one thing: I really didn't want to run into one of those bastards… or, you could call them the Winner parents! They certainly weren't winners in my book though.

A servant answered the door and ushered me into the house, or mansion, and to Quatre's so called quarters without even asking my name. I guess my little bro told them what I looked like or something. 

As I walked down the long, large and very bright hallways, I took in all of the decorations. The walls were lined with what 'had' to be famous painting. Why else would a rich person buy a painting? Unless it was expensive, right? Didn't matter how hideous it was, if it had a good name, it was in. Ok, so I just made the hideous painting part up, like I said before, I was finding every little excuse to hate these people more than I already did. Paintings… yes, that was a pretty crappy excuse to be using. 

This house was actually just the opposite of Heero's. How very weird. Everything in it was either white or bright colored, unlike Heero's haunted mansion with all its dark and dreary decorations.

Quatre's quarters were on the far end of the house, past a dozen or so other rooms. I wonder how he managed having to walk 'that' far everyday. Maybe his shoes had that padding in it that prevents blisters. Wish I had brought some blister less shoes. At the pace the maid was going you'd think we needed to run to his room. 

I knocked on what the maid had said was the 'young masters door', and took a couple breaths to calm myself from my little jogging adventure at the Winner's! Courtesy of the enthusiastic maid!

"Hold… on a… Come in!" A recognizable voice called from inside. 

Opening the door, I stuck my head in, peering around the… black walled bedroom? "Uh… Quatre?" I couldn't see the blond boy anywhere in the piles of… what the hell were they? My feet carried me over to investigate the large… aha! Clothes! That's what they were, but they were all tied together… I think.

"Oh! Duo!" The blonds head appeared from around a giant black bed placed in the center of his room. "Sorry about the mess. I just found those under my bed!"

"Uh… Quatre… what is it?" I asked, confusion as to why he had made a rope with his clothes.

I could hear him chuckle as he disappear behind the bed again. My feet carried me over to him, he was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, cutting out some newspaper clippings. 

"I made that when I was… umm, eight? I think that's right. I was playing with one of my older sisters…. escape the castle sort of game. Used to play that a lot." The scissors in his hand were cutting swiftly on the piece of paper, making a perfect star of… whatever the picture was he was cutting out.

"So… why's it on your floor?" 

"Oh, I was looking for something… umm… I don't remember what it was anymore. I found it under my bed, cant believe I wasted all of those good clothes!" He exclaimed, raising the scissors high in the air. "Guess I didn't think to much about that when I was little."

I chuckled slightly, eyes once again scanning the room. I had to admit, I like it a lot! "I never knew you for a black person." I teased, poking at a weird black twisty lamp he had by the bedside table. 

A big grin appeared on his face, "Yeah… well I didn't 'use' to like it all that much. I think I was going through my… rebellious stage. You know, the time when it seems like you're always fighting with your parents and…." His eyes widened and he looked to me in horror. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sound rude… cause… I'm so sorry Duo! I forgot about how you never… um…"

I just rolled my eyes while chuckling slightly. "Don't worry about it. Now are you going to finish your story or leave me hanging in the suspense of what your little rebel side did?" I asked, poking him in the forehead.

He seemed relieved slightly, 'only' slightly, and the smile came back onto his face. "One day, I used my allowance to hire a painter… and well… they were pretty pissed off. But I was making a point really. When the painter guy came, my parents didn't even know about it! They didn't even find out for a week. I think that was what I was mad about at that time. They never seemed to know 'what' was going on at the estate. Heh, after that they kept a pretty close eye on me. Made me feel like I had completed my mission!" He said, fist raised in triumph, then he fell back to the floor, giggling like a little kid. "But in the end I hated that they were watching me so closely, so either way it sucked."

"I was so weird back then, Duo. You should have seen me!" He got quiet after that. Probably because of what he had just said. 

Yeah, I wish I could have seen him back when he was still little. It wasn't my fault though… and it wasn't Quatre's. I just wished I could have gone back… and maybe do 'something' to let my brother know I wasn't dead. I guess it 'was' partly my fault, damn… I mean, I didn't really make much of an effort to find him until recently. I could have…

Gah! Got to stop dwelling in the past! Quatre was here now! That is the only thing that matter, ne? OK!

"So what are you doing?" I asked, tilting my head to try and see what he was cutting out. 

His cheeks darkened to a pink and his bottom lip was pulled into his mouth. "Umm… nothing?" He tried. 

I couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Oh? Is my little brother doing something naughty?" 

He just turned red before yelling. "It is 'not'… naughty!" 

"Hmmm? Then let me see."

"Umm… I cant?" He tried again. I just laughed at his questioning tone and pulled the scrap looking book out of him hands.

"Whoa! What's all this?" My eyes widened as I saw all of the pictures in there. All of one person. Pretty obvious who that person was, huh? "I didn't think Trowa was this famous!" My eyes scanned through the countless pages of Trowa, some of him in front of his art, some of him being interviewed. 

"Duo! Give it back!" I think he was a little too embarrassed that he had been caught keeping a scrap book of the guy he was gaga over.

"How long have you had this?"

"Umm… only a couple months." He mumbled, eyes falling to the dark grayish carpet.

"Eh? You did all of this in just a month?" There had to be at least twenty pages… well, most were filled not with Trowa, but of smaller copies of his art.

"Yeah… Hey! Wanna see something cool?" Forgetting his embarrassed state, he jumped up, pulling me along with him. "Look at these!" He pointed to the far wall, where a bunch of pictures were hanging. "Trowa gave them to me awhile ago!"

I tried hard to hide my amusement at seeing Quatre so excited over everything Trowa would do. Now that I think about it, every time we got together the conversation turns to the banged boy. It's amazing, he never even gets tired of talking about him so much.

I smirked and pulled Quatre in for a hug. "Why you leaving, huh? Trowa's probably going to go… raging elephant without you!"

He chuckled lightly, and a minute later he sighed. "We have this stupid business partner friendship making thing, I don't know! Ugh, hard to explain… ummm…" His eyebrows crinkled together slightly. "My father is in good relations with this big business guy… he has some children and for some reason my mother thinks it is good show to bring us along to 'entertain' their unentertainable children! It really sucks, but we do this every year."

"Hmm… how long you going to be gone?"

"Just a couple days, but I wanted you to come see where I've been living. I know you've probably been dying to!"

I smiled sheepishly. "Was it that obvious?" 

"Uh huh. A lot, a lot. Couldn't be more obvious." Wow, it was amazing to see how much we are alike… he talks just as fast as I do!

Grabbing his hand I pulled him towards… a door. I think it was the door I had come in from. "Well then, show me around!"

"Didn't really think you were all that interested in my bathroom." He said, opening the door to reveal that, yes, it was in fact a bathroom. 

"Damn, you're a slob ya know that?" His bathroom was pretty…. messy.

"That's what Trowa says too."

We spent the next couple hours talking, while I explored his estate with him following behind, laughing at my stupid comments. The place was bigger than I realized at first… especially the garden and pool area. I think the pool was a damn half a mile walk from the house. For reasons I don't know. It probably wasn't 'that' far, but everything seems longer when you are walking. Of course, Quatre had to go and tell me that they have little golf cart looking vehicles to tote them around. He told me this 'after' we walked the long distance to see the huge pool. 

Evil I tell ya!

It was around five by the time I decided I should be getting back. I had taken a leave from work for the day… which meant that I would have to work extra time on the weekend. But that didn't matter really, my little brother was more important. Yup, yup!

"Have a nice flight… or however it is you get to… the place you are going." I stuttered, head tilted to the side as I wondered if they had their own plane.

We were standing out in his front yard, well, right outside the gate. He had walked me out, saying it was what people did when they had a guest, show them the door. Well, he showed me the gate, not the door, but it works, right? 

He had really good manners, I soon realized. Though, he only acted polite in front of other people. When by himself, and just me, he is hyper and energetic. Kinda acts like a little kid. But when the maids had walked by, he'd always shut up. I had asked him about that and he said it was because his parents like to spy on him. It must have been hard, having so much expected of you at such a young age. 

He was taught everything needed to survive when taking over the company… that must have been time consuming. His childhood must not have been what I had hoped for him to have. And there was also the whole fact that he was adopted… so he probably feels obligated to pay back the people that took him in. 

Whatever his mind state was, it was his problem. I didn't want to snoop into his business. If he had a problem, I'm sure Trowa would always help him. I admit that I was a little sad thinking that he would go straight to his boyfriend for help… but, I would actually do the same thing, so I have no room to talk. 

Ah! I don't know if I told Heero I was going here! Woops…. I just ditched him after school. Ah, well, he probably assumed that I was working. Which I should have been doing, damn it!

"Quatre? Who's this?" My eyes moved from Quatre to see that a big black limousine had pulled up. Inside was an strange looking man, maybe in his fifties? He had dark brown hair and a mean expression set on his face. I think it was permanently set, because I don't think I could picture 'that' man ever smiling. He just looked at us through the rolled down window.

"Father!" Quatre jumped slightly in surprise, but that wasn't what I was concerned about. The fact that he had just confirmed this man to be the one that I had come to hate so much in so little of time had me clenching my fists. Nails digging into the palm of my hand as I tried to keep my head leveled.

My eyes narrowed slightly at the man, who seemed to be paying no great attention to me. More on Quatre, who was probably shaking beside me. 

Shit, what was I going to do? I had it all planned out before. I would give him a piece of my mind… but… Quatre would get in trouble. He seemed pretty scared of his father as it was. Damn, I couldn't tell him who I was. He'd probably put out a request to the police and I wouldn't be able to come within a mile of Quatre! A restraining order would be a simple thing for a billionaire to do!

I sighed and started to walk away from the now confused man. But I stopped short of his hearing distance, and turned to glare at him. I wasn't going to leave without saying something! 

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm dead!" I said sarcastically. I think I could hear a light chuckle from Quatre as I walked down the road, back in the direction of my home. 

I took a deep breath and let out a big sigh. I felt much better now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heero was once again at my apartment when I got home. Once again sleeping on the couch. I didn't wake him up this time though. I just sat down in front of him, watching as his chest slowly rose and fell to the soft rhythm of his breathing. I wonder how I ever managed to get someone like him, someone so beautiful, so perfect. I mean, what is so special about me and my weird long hair? Everything about me was awkward. My eyes, my hair, my too thin frame and short height. 

Come to think of it, Heero never actually told me just 'what' it was he saw in me…

"Will you stop doing that?" I jumped slightly at the voice filling the quiet room. Heero's eyes were now open and staring up at me. I must have spaced out, damn, my mind wanders 'way' too much these days.

"Doing what?" I asked dumbly, tilting my head to the side.

"Your worrying again." He stated, sitting up and stretching out his limbs. He kinda looked like a cat, stretching out after its fifth nap of the day. Heero sleeps too much, its kinda funny though.

"How did you know?" How the hell can anyone tell when someone is worrying? Is there a certain facial expression I make that gives it away? Or was I saying my thoughts out loud? That would have been bad.

"Hn." Was all he said before pulling me closer to himself, embracing me tightly. I snuggled into his arms, debating whether or not to ask him what had been bugging me. His calm voice once again pulled me from my thoughts. "You going to tell me what you were thinking about so hard or am I going to have to read your mind again?" He teased, lightly brushing his lips against mine.

"You never…" My mind suddenly went blank as I stared up at him. He was smiling down at me with amusement filled eyes. 

It was pretty amazing actually, if you compare Heero to that of his old self. He showed no emotion back when I first met him, and now he has all these new facial expressions! Though, he still is a little bit of his old self in front of other people, only with me is he so open and actually smiles. He has a really great smile, one of those that you could stare at all day. Well, I could even stare at his frowning self all day. But that's just me, I cant help but be a little obsessed with Heero. 

It's because I love him so much that I finally decided I should just trust him. He 'has' a reason for liking me, whatever it is, I don't really need to know. I'm just a curious person I guess, but I can live without knowing… for now. Yeah, I'll probably pull it out of him sometime, just not anytime soon.

"It's nothing." I said, leaning in and pressing my lips to his. I could hear him moan softly as my hands came to play with his soft hair. His mouth opened, tongue flicking out to run along my bottom lip. My lips opened in response and I couldn't help but moan back as his tongue thrust into my mouth, kneading together with mine. 

Somehow, I ended up below him again, back to the bottom couch cushions. We were in the same position as yesterday… but I wasn't afraid. Yesterday, right when I was falling asleep, I had heard what Heero had said… about how he loved me. I had forgotten about it until now, oddly enough. I guess my mind was too exhausted the day before to see it as something so important to remember. 

"Heero…" My mouth came up to whisper in his ear and I could feel him shudder above me.

"Are… we going to fast?" He asked, a little hesitant. His body moved to sit up, so that he could stare down at me. I could see the uncertainty in his eyes, but could also see that he was definitely starting to get aroused, from the fact that I was laying underneath him, hands running over his chest.

My body wasn't doing so good either. As I stared up at him from my laid back position, as my eyes ran down his slightly muscled body, I felt myself start to pant with need. My hands came up to pull him back on top of me, capturing his lips once again. I wanted to give him something… to show how much I loved him. I wanted to feel all of him, which is why my hands were now pushing forcibly at his shirt. 

Before I knew it, we were both left in our boxers, legs entwined around each other as we explored with our hands. I noticed how Heero was being extra careful not to brush up against my injuries, even though they didn't hurt much any more. His lips left mine to nibble at my earlobe, then moving down to my neck, sucking on the pale skin. 

"Heero…" I panted, eyes shutting tight as the sensation washed over me. 

"Are you alright?" He was looking at me again, with fear in his eyes. I think I had frozen up for a second.

"I'm fine." My eyes didn't close after that, I think that was why I was scared before… I wasn't watching… my body needed to know what was going on. 

A smile fell across my lips and I looked up to him in reassurance, eyes showing that everything was alright. "Will you make love to me?" I whispered into his ear, causing him to shudder again. I smirked, I think he liked it when I did that.

Warmth, even in the cold apartment, Heero once again showed me how warm he could be. Not the hot feel of his naked body on mine, or the burn of his mouth placed on my sensitive skin. No… I was amazed at how delicate… how gentle he was being. How he could manage to turn me into a puddle of loose limbs by just touching me. His hands, exploring me, tickling my stomach with his feather light strokes. 

I wanted more, and I was almost to the point of begging when he finally started to prepare me. It was weird, I really wanted to pay attention… to what he was doing… but all I could do was pant and beg… for something I didn't even know what exactly. 

Finally, the feeling of him inside me, on top of me, running his hands all over me. I never wanted it to stop, didn't want it to ever end. Wrapped around his body as he showed me… made me feel…

"I love you." I whispered slightly between my panting breaths, right before I saw nothing more, for white light filled my senses and I gasped loudly. 

"Ai shiteru."

__

TBC.- in the epilogue

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Ok, so everything is wrapped up and ready for the epilogue! Woohoo! Thank you for reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please tell me what you thought… I know… the lime part wasn't that great, but its my first time writing something like… that. Hah. Anyways, you can tell me if you hated it or not if you wanted, but review! Onegai?

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	20. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gundam Wing Characters, blah blah blah

Pairings: 1x2, 3+4, 5+H

Warning: YAOI

Summary: Duo Maxwell is put into a protection program after his father gets out of jail and goes missing. Duo finds himself in a situation where he can finally find his brother that was adopted ten years ago. 

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Epilogue: Heero Cleans the Stage

(_HEERO *POV* WOOHOO_)

**__**

He's talking again… I don't think he realizes that he never shuts up. Or the fact that he doesn't ever stop moving like some wined up toy. Either his foot is tapping, his hand is moving, or he's just plain jumping up and down like some excited kid. There are times where he does actually settle down… times when he's just too exhausted to be energetic. I like watching him… I can not stop. After work, he comes home, shoulders slouched in tiredness. He tells me these crazy stories where he had to go up under the so called "giant robot" and the "doctors" locked him in the cockpit or some other strange tale of his day. And he always has one. I enjoy listening to his voice as he tells me all about them. Enjoy watching the tired yet amused expressions that come over his face. That is one of the few times he is so exhausted that his little motor just stops. I can think of one other time… let me clear my throat. Yes, but we don't need to go into that.

That police man stopped by today as we were packing up Duo's stuff. I had finally convinced him to move into the "haunted house" as Duo likes to call it. Kemp, I couldn't help but glare at him a couple times. He was just so friendly with Duo… running his knuckle over the braided boys skull. Jokingly elbowing him. It's weird… this jealous feeling I get… but I think its only normal to be a bit… overprotected? Possessive? All of the above?

His girlfriend… that was pretty shocking. She came with him to see Duo and I admit I was a little surprised. She has even longer hair than Duo! These people… how the hell do they manage to keep their hair that long. I have enough trouble with the so called 'hair' sitting on top of my head right now…. but it could be because I don't use any type of conditioner. Walking down the grocery store isle, I 'almost' buy the conditioners every time… but… I find them a little… girly. Yes, that is very stupid… but I think it was because of Jay, and his influence… he didn't think to kindly of woman and their "Disgusting habits and pampering" as he put it. I never really took him serious until I met Relena. That was a pretty scary first meeting. 

For some reason, she had decided that I should fall in love with her. She did everything she could to *cough* lure me into her bedroom. One time, when I was coming home late, I had decided to take a short cut through some neighbors yards. Well, if I would have known it was Relena's yard I was cutting through at the time, I'm sure I never would have tried it. Anyways, as I was minding my own business, walking through the finely trimmed grass, I heard a voice. I should have ignored it, really, I should have. I don't even remember why I chose to "Investigate into the situation" as Duo would like to put it. 

Turns out, Relena was standing on her balcony, in her nightgown… talking to herself. I would have laughed… but I don't really do the whole 'laughing bit'. 

"Oh how I wish my hero would come!" She had said, in a very dramatic voice. My eyes widened and I stood frozen, only a couple of feet from her view. I think it would have been wise to leave just then. But, like Duo had once said, I was a little too curious for my own good sometimes. I proved that when I hacked into Duo's files… my nice little reward being a punch in the face. 

"Moon, moon! Show me my prince!" She demanded… and I was starting to feel sorry for the moon… having to listen to this crap all night long. 

Well, just then, the wind blew… and I sneezed. Stupid, yes. My hidden position was given away and Relena saw me. Well… I think she saw me… I had run away pretty quick after that.

The next day was when Relena had started her little… 'stalking game.' I called it a game because nothing with Relena was serious. She lives in her mind, thrives off of her fantasies. I wonder if she is seeing a shrink?

Back to the present. 

Duo was just walking Kemp and his girlfriend to the door. I hadn't really talked much… well, at all… but it didn't seem to bother anyone, or offend them. I think it was expected. 

Duo came bounding over to me. He seemed to be really thrilled that the police guy had come to visit him. I guess they were close, after all, he did know Duo longer than I did… if only a day.

Things went pretty smooth from then on. Days kind of flew by quickly after Duo moved in with me. The house changed… dramatically, because of his influence. I think all of the servants in the house fell in love with him within the first week. And the funny thing is… he doesn't really seem to notice what he does to people. Duo seems to barely notice that he make their days better with just a smile and a joke. He has amazed me once again.

I think that is one of the many reason that I am so… infatuated with him. My head likes to rear off to thought of Duo all the time. Not that I mind though, but its really… strange. It took me a long time to figure out that I was in love with the cheerful boy. And when I came to that frightening conclusion, I laughed… I still have no clue why. It could be that I thought I was going insane for liking a… male. That brings me back to Jay and his standards… god how I hate remembering those stupid lessons.

Jay was old fashion… as those woman haters are called. He didn't so much 'hate' woman, but what they had become. He felt that a woman should stay home, get fat, clean, bear children and be happy with just that. God how I felt sorry for his wife. But she was dead, so she was probably happier now.

Anyway, back to the present once again. 

A couple days ago I had come across something amusing when entering the kitchen for a snack. There seemed to be at least eight of the female servants sitting around someone, laughing as he spoke. I didn't see Duo, but his voice was rather loud and obvious. I couldn't help but smile as he continued telling them some story about a funny short orphan kid he had known. 

One of the servants looked over to me in surprise, eyes widening. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I realized that I was smiling. I guess they hadn't seen it before… must have been pretty shocking. Duo didn't even stop talking as he stood up, eye meeting mine. He walked over and took hold of my hand, dragging me into the small circle he had been in. 

I could feel myself getting nervous as I sat inside the giant circle of woman… yes, I was a little…*cough* I don't want to admit it! I wasn't used to being around so many laughing woman… but as I looked all of them over, I realized that they seemed to be really nice, cheerful people. It amazed me that they could act so… dull, when my Aunt was in ruling. 

When Duo was done with his little chatting session with the maids, he pulled me out the door, whispering, "You should really start to get to know your servants more, they are really cool people."

Well, I tried to use Duo's advice. But I only ended up watching the servants more closely now. They all had changed, they were all a lot happier now… no one complained at all. I remember watching the scared servant setting the table… afraid of my Aunts cold words… she now laughed and made jokes while talking to Duo, setting his food in front of him. It seems he still couldn't get use to people making the food and setting it down for him, he always grumbled and complained, making everyone laugh and a few would pat him on the back saying, "Well you better not start serving yourself or we'll have nothing to do!"

I didn't want to sell the house anymore. I didn't want to have to fire the servants. So what was I suppose to do now?

Things got pretty complicated for awhile. Duo was always working… I rarely saw him for the first month, after that his schedule calmed down to shorter hours. No matter what I said, he wouldn't quit his job. He didn't need the money anymore… didn't have to work so hard. But, he kept insisting that he earn his own money. It was bad enough that I paid for the house and food, but he didn't want me paying for anything else. Which was fine, I understood what he wanted. Some sort of independence. To not be dependant on me all the time. Not have to ask for money… even though I would give him anything in a heart beat.

It was hard for me too… not only was Duo gone for most of the day… but I still didn't know what I was going to do about the house and servants. 

Finally, after sitting and thinking for what seemed like weeks, I came to a decision. The 'new' problem was how to keep it a secret from Duo.

It was the middle of summer when my plan finally got started. Duo was out at work and I decided that now was a good time to have a meeting with the house staff. It was pretty humorous, seeing them all stuffed in one room, looking around at each other, curious as to why they were all there. Some even looked rather frightened, like they knew that I was going to sell the house. Which is what I told them and I could see some of their faces visibly pale. 

This only caused me to smirk, I still hadn't gotten around to explaining the 'other' half of my decision. When I finally did, they all seemed thrilled, reassured, one actually was laughing with relief. 

Yes, I was going to build a new house… for Duo. One that would have windows everywhere… well, except for my room. He seemed to get used to it after awhile… and started to actually like the dark feel it gave off. 

After the servants left, and promised that they would keep the secret from "Master Duo" as they called him, I was left to try and figure out where I was actually going to build it. It couldn't be far, half of the staff lived outside the house, with their families. I sighed, leaning back in my chair, eyes closing as I felt a headache coming on. This was going to be hard. Especially trying to hide my plans from the ever observant violet eyed boy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was around Christmas that my plan was just getting finished. The house was done two weeks before the snow started to fall, and was just getting furnished. I had to admit, I was really proud of myself on this one. Not only was I able to keep it a complete secret, but the house looked amazing. It was a two story, with basement. The plans were drawn up by an architect I hired, but… I had him add a few things just for Duo. Like the secret passage leading outside from our bedroom in the basement. Or the passage leading from his new office to the kitchen. Yes, that one seemed really amusing. I didn't plan on telling him about the one behind my bookshelf, leading to another empty room. That one would be for me, a sort of escape if I ever needed it.

There were two master size bedrooms on the top floor, with six other smaller bedrooms which will mostly be used for the servants. The middle floor is where the kitchen, offices, more bedrooms, and two living rooms, both of which have giant windows showing off the forest surrounding the house, were located. There was also the dinning room, which I had purposely enlarged enough to where all of the servants would be able to join us. I'm sure Duo would like that much better. The cooks, however, would now have to be cooking fancy meals for about twenty or so people, versus the usual small meal that the servants 'use' to eat. I'd probably have to raise their salary. Not that I minded.

The basement was my pride and joy. I had worked really hard on it, spent a lot of time talking with the builders. There were no windows, It was really dark, the way I liked it. But the lights were bright enough to make it seem cheerful, yet could be turned down to set a nice mood. 

As you walked down the stairs, big enough that Duo most likely wouldn't get scared not even once, you came into a sort of second living room. It was just as big as Duo's old apartment… ok maybe a tad bit bigger. When Duo had moved from his apartment into my place, he had to sell all of his furniture… he didn't want me to know, but I felt that he was a little sad to see all of his stuff go. That's why I ended up keeping the couches and television in storage. Along with his kitchen table and other various items.

The basement was now arranged to look almost exactly like Duo's apartment. With a couple added things, there was only a wet bar where the kitchen was, except no alcohol, just tons of soda's. Also The walls were all black instead of the whitish color they used to be. The carpet was also the same, and so was the location of Duo's bedroom. Since there were no windows down in the basement, I was having a professional photographer go to Duo's old apartment to take pictures of the view he saw everyday. He would then blow up the images and it would be framed in a long rectangle… it would look exactly like a window. 

I was even amazed at how well it turned out. You could barely tell the difference from Duo's old apartment… minus the fact that the supposed 'people' out in the shopping centers he could see from his window were not moving. 

The bedroom however, I decided to make look like my old room in the basement. With its five computers, bed (not small anymore, but queen sized) and door off to the side. The door however, didn't lead to the balcony like at the 'creepy' house. This one led to the bathroom, like Duo had assumed it did the first time he came to my house. There was also a closet, which was where the secret passage was, leading to the woods outside.

If everything went according to schedule, I would be able to present it to him on Christmas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I knew it, Christmas Eve was tomorrow.

The servants were all busy and frantically trying to pack up all of their stuff for the move without being obvious to Duo. He seemed to be getting a little suspicious as to why the servants would talk in hushed voices and get wide eyes every time he walked by. He'd of course complain to me, saying something was up with them! I could barely hold back the smirk that wanted to come over my lips.

The next day, everyone was starting to move into their new rooms at our new… estate. My stomach was starting to flutter with nervousness as I worried whether or not Duo would like it. By the time evening came, I was a jumbled mess inside and Duo had a big frown on his face.

"Where is everyone?" He had asked, walking through the kitchen to find it empty, void of all the cooks.

"It's Christmas Eve, you don't expect me to keep them here do you?" He just bit his bottom lip and looked off to the side. Yeah, he was definitely suspicious of something. I just hoped he would hold off his curiosity until tomorrow.

Well, I managed to keep him busy for the rest of the night. Wasn't all the hard when you put some food in front of him and then drag him to bed, mouth too occupied to ask any questions. Morning was what I was now worried about. Christmas was only a couple hours away and I found myself having a hard time sleeping. I cant remember a time where I was this excited for a holiday, I've never really gotten any presents before… not that I can remember anyway. But, this year I even got presents from all of the servants. They were all sitting under the tree at the new house. The tree used to be here, but I had it moved yesterday afternoon to the new estate along with all the servants. I wish I could have been there to see what they thought of the house. It was definitely different.

Morning came to me opening my eyes to a frowning Duo. 

"What's wrong?" I asked, pulling him back into bed. He went stiff and glared at me when I chuckled. 

I guess he finally figured out that the tree was missing.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on?" His arms crossed as he sat straddling my waist. With a 'your not getting away until I get some answers' expression plastered on his cute little face.

"What do you mean?" I smirked, causing him to growl in annoyance.

"Heero! The Christmas tree is gone! Our presents are gone! The servants are 'not' here and their rooms are empty!" He said, a little too quickly for my fuzzy 'early morning' brain to catch all of it.

"Hmm? Really?" I asked in mock surprise.

I think I got to him because he giggled slightly, bring his hand to slap my shoulder playfully. His grin turned wicked as he leaned in closer to me, capturing my mouth with his. "You…" His tongue darted out to trace my bottom lip. "going… to…" I could feel a moan escape my throat as his knee pressed against my groan. "tell me… what's going on?" He pulled away then, causing me to growl at his teasing. My hand reached out to pull him to me, but he just slapped it away. "No, no… not until I get some answers."

I rolled my eyes as I sat up, scooping him in my arms and walking to our closet. Gently, I set him back on the ground and he looked at me in confusion. "Get dressed." Was all I said before disappearing into the bathroom to take a quick 'cold' shower.

Twenty minutes later we were getting into one of the servants cars I had asked to borrow. I hadn't really bothered buying my own yet, didn't really see the use until now. Since the new estate was a little more on the outskirts of town, it would probably be a good idea to get one soon.

The drive was silent… I was too excited to speak, even if my outward appearance looked calm, I was just the opposite. Duo hadn't taken his eyes off of me the whole time, looking at me suspiciously. It was hell, that ten minute car ride. I was relieved when I saw the dirt path that led the new house come into view. And was happy to note that Duo wasn't staring at me anymore, but eyes now widening as the almost Victorian style light brown house came into view. It had dark red bricks outlining the doorway, with four square pillars making a small sort of walkway to the entrance. 

I parked the car and Duo quickly jumped out before I even had the engine off. His violet eyes looked to me in confusion. "Heero?"

I couldn't hide the smile anymore and I could see his eyes widen as I did so. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him to the entrance, only pausing once to kiss him on the cheek before opening the door. 

"Master Duo!" One of the maids was ready and waiting at the door. Duo's mouth dropped and I couldn't resist reaching up to push his chin back in place, shutting his mouth. "Can I take your coat?" She asked, chuckling slightly at his confused, shocked expression.

He just looked to me again, eyebrows raised. "Heero?"

"Ah! Master Duo!" Another maid came out from the dinning room door before I could even start to explain to the braided boy what was going on. "Breakfast is on the table."

"Breakfast?" He asked, looking at me again. This time with a nervous glare.

"Well aren't you hungry?" I asked. "I sure am."

His arms were thrown up into the air and he let out a huge frustrated sigh. He was about to say something but I cut him off. "We'll take breakfast in a little bit, I want to show Duo to our quarters first." I said, grabbing his hand, once again dragging him, we went down past the living room to where the basement door was.

"Heero… did you… is this…" I pushed a finger gently to his mouth as we stopped in front of the big oak door. He stopped trying to speak, looking shocked to see the smirk on my face.

My heart was pounding fast as we made our way down to the basement. It was pitch black down there and I could feel Duo move closer to me as I felt for the switch. I was a little hesitant to turn on the lights, still a little afraid of his reaction. I mean, I wasn't all that sure he would like living here. My hand finally flicked the lights on, they spilled across the room, showing the copy of Duo's apartment.

I could feel him stiffen beside me and my eyes turned to get a look at him. He was standing there, wide eyed, mouth opening and closing a couple times as if trying to say something. "This is…"

"Welcome home." I said, interrupting him and pulling him into a loose hug. He was shaking now and I pulled quickly away to get a better look at him. "Are you alright?" I asked, worried as I saw the tears starting to crawl down his pale cheeks.

"Heero? You did this?" His hand came up to wipe desperately at his eyes as he asked this. 

"A… Aa." 

"H-how… it's my… I cant believe you did this… it's exactly…" Tears were now running freely down his cheeks, him no longer trying to hold them in as he clung to me. "Thank you… oh gods…"

"Shh.. calm down." My hands came up to softly rub his back, holding him tightly within my arms.

He pulled away just then, his bright smile filling my heart with happiness. My hand was grabbed and he pulled me over to the couch. I could see his eyes scanning the room and his smile only widened as he said, "You made it black! Oh! How did you get the same couches? Even have the stain where I dropped my jelly sandwich!"

I just chuckled and pulled him in for a kiss. "Merry Christmas." I think that was the first time I had ever said that to someone. It made me feel warm inside as Duo eyes brightened and he looked like he was going to cry again. "Now, don't you want to see the rest of our house?" I asked, pulling him up and leading him to the bedroom.

"Damn! When did you do this? I cant believe I didn't even realize something was weird until a month ago!" That stopped me and my eyebrow raised in question. "Oh, Maya and Fran were really obvious. Kept talking in hushed voices. It was driving me nuts!" He laughed as I growled slightly, annoyed that they could barely keep the secret. "But I had no idea it was… holy crap!" 

Duo's mouth once again fell open as he stared at our bedroom, the complete replica of what we were sleeping in early this morning… except the bed was bigger.

I think breakfast was a little cold by the time we finally got around to coming out of our little hole. Duo was running around examining every little detail, the smile never left his face. I don't think I have ever been happier. I couldn't wait to show him all the secret passages. He was still a little adventurous kid inside, and I knew he would love them. They were even lit and big so his claustrophobia wouldn't kick in. Hmm… maybe I shouldn't tell him about them… I'm sure he'd find them all sooner or later. Yes, I am very evil sometimes.

Breakfast was another shocker for the poor Duo. Though it was a really good one, he almost started crying again when he realized that everyone would be eating together. I finally realized why he was so happy living with all of the maids, and cooks… and always so friendly with them. They had become apart of his family. Duo doesn't have many blood relatives, only Quatre really, but that never bothered him. Since these people were just as good… and I couldn't be happier for him. He even started to call most of the maids Aunty… one of the chef's almost threw a bowl at him for calling him gramps. It was really amusing, Duo kept insisting that he be called gramps because he reminded him of a grandfather. The cook just grumbled, complaining about youngsters and their lack of respect, but no one could ever resist Duo's charm for long and he ended up as the official 'Gramps'.

After breakfast consisted of me chasing the excited Duo through the house. I was a little disappointed that he found the secret passages 'already'. But as I saw his face, the wide smile and gleam in his eyes, I forgot all about my disappointment. He even got 'me' feeling a little adventurous, and almost convinced me to play hide and seek. I had sighed in relief when someone came and got us for lunch. For some reason hiding in a closet didn't appeal to me much.

It wasn't until way past dinner and the excitement had died down again that we opened all the Christmas presents. There was a lot, some of the staff stayed to share it with us since they didn't have family to go to. Duo had, of course, gotten a present for everyone. I was a little worried about that, seeing as how he used his own money. Must have used up a big chunk of what he earned. Not that he seemed to care really, I don't think he liked money all the much.

After a couple hours of eggnog and Duo literally passed out on the couch, everyone finally hit the sack. I carried the exhausted boy down to our room, grinning the whole time. 

This was definitely the best Christmas I've ever had. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I awoke the next morning to Duo, smiling down on me evilly. Somehow he had managed to strip me naked without waking me. My eyes widened as I realized I was tied down, arms and legs spread and attached to the four bed posts. I struggled a little bit, which only made Duo grin wider as I came to the conclusion that I would not be able to get out of the constraints wrapped tightly around my wrists and ankles. 

Damn. He had found the rope.

"You've been really naughty, Heero." He said, tongue flicking out to lick the side of my neck. "Keeping secrets from me." I shivered as his breath tickled my ear. "I don't like being left in the dark." He purred against my ear. "Now… what should I do to punish you?"

Turns out, we never made it to breakfast… or lunch. But we did finally leave the bedroom after remembering that I had invited the gang over.

They all came bearing presents and candy. A very excited Duo on a sugar rush was amusing. Of course, he had to show them all of the secret passages, *sigh*, so much for them being a secret. You know, I never really considered Hilde, Wufei, Trowa and even Quatre as my friends until Duo showed up. Sure, we did all of the 'friend' type things like hanging out… but we weren't as close as we were now, we didn't share things then like we do now. 

Even years later we all find time to go out and get together. Quatre would usually be the one to call us all up and demand we go try out a new restaurant. It nice, and I wish we could have done these things more often, but everyone has become really busy people. 

After graduating from college, Quatre finally took over the Winner Corporation. That was a pretty hard time for Trowa and him. I think they broke up for about a month, before getting back together. During that time of separation, Trowa went off to decide where he wanted to go in life. Duo had told me the main problem with their relationship was that Trowa didn't want to be dependant on Quatre for money. He didn't want to live with Quatre until he made something of himself. After a month of "sulking" as Trowa had put it, some of the paintings he was working on were sold. It was a small start, but just enough to give him the confidence to go back to Quatre. They still don't live with each other… ok, so they do in a way. But Trowa has his own studio apartment where he goes every once in awhile to work without Quatre. They have a pretty complicated relationship. I just hope that everything turns out alright, because truthfully, they need each other.

When Duo had told me the whole story of why Trowa had left, I got scared. It was because of the money that he left for a month… and I don't think I could deal with Duo leaving me for that long. When I voiced my concern to him he just laughed at me and reassured me it would take a hundred tow trucks to drag him away.

Duo was now working full time at his first job. It seems one of the "Doctors" died and he was to take over the position. I did eventually get around to figuring out where he worked, wasn't all that confidential as Duo had said. Most of the Military weapons are voiced over the news nowadays anyway. Compliment of the Prime Minister who supposedly worked hard to get the law passed. the Prime Minister turned out to be none other than Relena Peacecraft, much to me and Duo's horror. We still saw her as the ditzy daydreamer she was in high school. But, amazingly enough, she was actually extremely intelligent. I just wonder who the psychiatrist was who saved her poor soul.

Wufei and Hilde went to separate colleges, but somehow ended up getting hitched halfway through. They had only invited us to their "After Wedding" party. Truthfully, I think they went to Las Vegas, got drunk and married with little knowledge of it until they sobered. They seemed to be fighting non stop about something, wish I could have known what. They got their act together soon enough though. Hilde once had a pregnancy scare which almost put Wufei in the hospital from shock. I don't think he was ready for that step yet. Hilde found it amusing and would mock complain non stop about how she wanted kids and how they were "SO adorably scrumptious"… or something along the lines of that.

I've probably changed the most out of everyone from High School. Duo had said that when we go back to our reunion I was sure to get the "Who the hell are you and what did you do with the nerd?" award. Though I didn't find it as amusing as he did… I think he was trying to hint that I was a computer geek. Which happens to be my job. I took over a small programming business, and also do some part time graphic designing. Sure, I could have gotten better, higher paying jobs, but they would have taken up too much of my time. My time with Duo was very important to me. 

The thing that changed the most about me is my personality. I somehow managed to come out of my enclosed shell and contribute to conversations. You should have seen the face Wufei made when I laughed at him as he tripped one time. I don't think he had ever heard me laugh and was a little shocked. He even forgot all about the fact that Duo was the one that had tripped him. I smile a lot more too… and I realized it wasn't as hard as it had seemed to be before. 

I don't know what I would have become if not for Duo.

Duo… he physically changed a lot. Had a growth spurt after high school. Hair is still long, though I managed to convince him to get it trimmed slightly and take out the split ends… which he kept insisting weren't there. He's about a centimeter taller than me now… which he loves to tease me about. His light personality never seemed to change, he still loves to explore and I catch him jumping on our bed every once in a while.

Quatre… I don't think he changed much either. Oh, except for he finally grew out of his clumsy stage. But everyone still remembers how he used to be… and remind him every chance they get. Especially Hilde, I've finally realized that she loves to see people suffer. Her practical jokes can be sometimes wicked. I just hope that she calms down soon or she will give Wufei a heart attack. I don't know how many times he called us up complaining about how she used his "precious katana" to chop wood. Why she was chopping wood in the first place was beyond me.

Trowa became pretty famous a couple years ago when he sold a painting to a war memorial museum. I think he had called it "Heavy Arms". He earned quite a lot of money for that one. Don't think he'd ever have to leave Quatre again.

Wufei had matured a lot. He doesn't blow up during a conversation anymore. Doesn't rant about the injustices of politics like he used to. I think it's because he became a police officer and has to escort the Mayor around every once in awhile. Wufei and Duo 'still' talk big around each other though. The funny thing is that they never got around to having an actual fight like planned so long ago. Don't think they ever will, its become some sort of joke between them now.

As I sat in my office, reminiscing about the past, my hand instinctively went to pull out the gold chain from under my shirt. I played with the shiny metal before clasping it tightly in my hand, a smile setting on my lips as I remembered where I got it. A gold cross… Duo's gold cross. Something he always kept hidden from everyone, always under his shirt. My first real Christmas… he had given it to me. I think that still stands as one of the happiest days of my life… because it was where I got my first 'actual' present from Duo. The thing I will treasure until I die.

Owari~

END END END END END END END

Umm… I never planned on the Epilogue being so DAMN LONG!!! Geez! I thought it was going to turn out about as long as the Prologue… of course I was wrong… really, really wrong. Well! That! Is! It! I hope you enjoyed reading my story that took me… about a month and a half to write? Something along that line. Anyways, please tell me what you thought!!!!!! Wooo!!!! 

GYA! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAD REVIEWED MY STORY!!

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